Where is the shame? We need to know it's there, because I tell you boys there's plenty of embarrassment out there. Pakistan were once famous for being cornered tigers but they are now frightened rabbits. Where is the shame boys? Where is the pride? You might carry it in your hearts but you also need to wear it on your sleeves.

Pakistan fans are often criticised for being fickle, but the reality is--and it's obvious reading comments on this blog--that success in cricket really matters to Pakistanis everywhere. We need to know and see that it also matters to the players, captain, and coach. When this World Cup becomes history it will be the performances of the players and the achievements of the captain and coach that will be remembered. The failings--and they are genuine failings--of the administrators will be barely considered.

The bottom line is that the squad and management must succeed despite the crazy way the country's cricket is run. They might not owe it to their cricket board but they certainly owe it to their many millions of die-hard supporters. Let's hope we see a different Pakistan and different leadership in a month's time.

Pakistan's equipment went missing recently but nobody told us that they'd lost their heart as well.

I completely agree Kamran, that our team does not know how to show any character.

I watched the entire match today, and have come to the conclusion that they don't remember how to fight.

What happened to the team of 92?

Also, our own captain needs to stand up and lead from the front? Kamran at #4? Inzy himself at #6?

What captain bats at #6? Well beyond me...

I would be very surprised if Pakistan go past super 8 in world cup. They are basically an incomplete team. How can they think to win world cup when they do not have good openers at all. Plus Inzi is no genius in captaincy to think of a working strategy.

Moreover Pakistan lacks the aggression. I do not understand why they got rid of Waqar Younis as bowling coach who was doing good job with all fast bowlers, and ever since he is gone, the discipline in bowlers and their performance gone down. What was the reason of bringing Mushtaq Ahmed?? Tableeghis want to control team, they think they can worship their way to win world cup.

This is unbelievable. I WAS a hardcore fan of Pakistani cricket before SA series but they have let all of us down so badly…I can’t even motivate myself to watch world cup even though I have paid for it. Is there any accountability process for PCB? In fact can Inzamam and Woolmer justify few things e.g. can they justify the inclusion of RANA in world up squad? In his last 5 one days ( make it 6 if we include 20) he has conceded runs at an average of OVER 9 runs an over…..how can you include that kind of SO CALLED bowler in world cup squad and even in last two one days that we played in SA he shouldn’t be there. Can they justify their continuation of Kamran Akmal in team? They purposely did not give chance to Zulkernain Haider so that Kamran Akmal could be an automatic selection…by the way he has scored less than 10 runs per match in his last 6 limited over appearances (and even in England series)…I was so disappointed to see him standing behind the wickets in last 4 one day. Kamran Akmal has no technique to open an innings especially in SA. What is Mushtaq’s role in team? Pleaseeeeeee give us a leader who can motivate his players…please give us a leader who can put his personal friendships (Rana and Akmal in team) behind and think for the pride of country…please take out Rana from world cup squad, I hate Sami but he is still better than aging Rana.....aaaaahhhhhhhhh HOW CAN YOU BE SO MEAN INZAMAM YOU SHOULD HAVE GIVEN CHANCE TO OTHER PLAYERS IN SA SERIES SO THAT WE COULD HAVE OPTIONS FOR WORLD CUP....

As much as it hurts, the reality is that the players which are selected for this WC : are not mentally tough enough,are not talented enough, are not fit enough and very worryingly are not committed enough.
I agree with Kamran bhai that they look so lethargic. I feel like a stupid rooting for these pakistani players who give a damm about their performances.
Atleast put up a performance, i am not asking to win every match. Just be competitve. Show people that you are international cricketers selected from 1000z and 1000z of cricketers around the country. Seems like pakistani cricket is all about "who-knows-who" and weather ur a " Yes-Sir " to inzi.
What a shame !

It was without doubt an embarassing performance by Pakistan. Although South Africans bowled well, it was well assisted by poor batting of Pakistan and at the end, once again, there were not enough runs on the board for the bowlers to defend.

Next stop is West Indies - the big show time. And we are still experimenting with our openers. While Younis is scoring at number 3 position, there is still experimantation going on at that slot. This leaves Inzi to come at number 6 when all upper order players are gone. Hafeez is a waste and he proved it today. Well, at this time, if we make it to top four in the world cup - it will be a dignified effort from this team.

Bits & pieces cricketers are just that. Can anyone tell me what the one-day specialists achieved? Razzaq, Rana (why was played in all 5 matches) whoever penned his name on the final sheet needs to be shot. Any form of cricket needs cricketers. Did anyone noticed that pakistan batting failed. Why wasn't Asim Kamal played? Why wasn't Malik put to open? Did they realize they were up againt a quality pace attack ( not a club side). Why was a failure like Akaml persisted with for 5 matches (who penned his name on the final sheet should be tortured as we the fans were tortured in watching his dismal failures. This team cannot even beat Ireland. And who selected Akhtar (a person that should only play near a hospital). Well Bangladesh certainly shows more cricketing skills and captaincy brains than Pakistan. They are a bunch of losers (sorry Yousuf, you're exceptional).

YEP! Told you one success does not mean (2nd ODI) anything. Our players have NEVER shown any consistency as a GROUP. I do not think that we had the selection bad, it was one of the best team ON PAPER minus SHOAIB. Only thing I can blame management off is how they handle our only spoiled child SHOAIB , a match winner. We do not have a match winner left in our team. Whateever little hope you have off miracles is when you have Shoaib bowling on all 4 cylinders. Handle that man with some plan and patience and he may deliver some goods for atleast couple of years. Leave poor Asif some breathing room! Get a FAST BOWLING coach. Drop big names if not playing well for last 5-6 matches.
MAN, MY ULCER HAS LOT TO do with this team. It is my dream to see this team perform (not win all the time but show some spine) consistently.
Good luck with World Cup..maybe just maybe because of INCOSISTENCY they may even pull this one from the hat..Some dream huh!!! but you never know! keep your anatcids around!

Is this the team that we are supposed to compete with in the world cup? What has PCB seen in Rana Naveed, Mohammad Hafeez to be sent to the world cup? I would rather give someone young a chance to get some experience. This team looks like they have no motivation, no sense of direction. The way PCB is running the show is embarassing. Why did they reject the idea of different surfaces for our players to practice on before they were sent to S.A.? Pakistan has a problem performing in England, S.A., N.Z, Australia for a long time now. Yet still they would rather spend large amounts of money on English lawyers rather then education of their own players?

“Pakistan’s equipment goes missing” reads the headline. Yes, indeed.

We have to be realistic. The team is struggling with injuries, has only a few good players, and was outplayed by a superior team. I think at this time fans should support the team. Not uncritically, though.

I would say one of the biggest problems (of many) is the persistent failure of top order Pakistan batting. This creates a batting crisis almost every single time. The current opening pair of Hafeez and Imran Nazir (endorsed by -the surprisingly influential with Pakistan selectors-Dr. Abbasi) selected for the world cup looks to be a disaster. And forcing Kamran Akmal as an opening batsman does not seem to work either.

And why was Hafeez, who averages 18 runs in ODIs selected? Was it because of a superior performance in South Africa? The panic recall of Imran Nazir was another stupid decision. A talented batsman on a good day perhaps, but undisciplined and with a long history of underperformance, averaging about 23 runs from 61 ODIs. Why not Hameed who averages 39 from 50 ODIs?

I think this is the weakest and most troubled Pakistan team to enter a World Cup. An unfair and failed selection policy (based on nepotism, and rewarding mediocrity and inconsistency) is in large part responsible for this.

Having said that, the team does have some talented players and should be able to bounce back. While expectations of winning the World Cup would take one into the realm of pure fantasy, we look forward to some good games from the Pakistan team.

Kamran if you adapt this policy of "hope for the best and be prepared for the worst" then you'll not feel bad and you won't be embarrased either.

I knew what was gonna happen so I am neither sad nor embarrassed. The only thing I didn't like is some people learn from their mistakes but Pakistan's coach, captain and selectors keep repeating their mistakes.

Cheer up Mr. Kamran Abbassi get yourself a HOT CUPPA (non-alchololic) TEA. :-)

Whats the surprise here, Kamran? When has a Pakistan team EVER shown at Heart, or Fight against AUSTRALIA or SOUTH AFRICA since 1994? NEVER. Thats the cold answer - which is 100% accurate. Every single Pakistani fan conveniently forgets all the thrashings Pakistan receive when they play Australia or South Africa, as soon as we notch up victories against LESSER teams like West Indies, Sri Lanka, and India. Whenever we win against those teams, suddenly everyone (including you Kamran) forget about the 3-0 thrashings we recieve at the hands of the Aussies time and time again, or the fact that in countless visits to South Africa, our batting has collapsed time and time again, be in 1997-98, 2003,2004, or 2006-2007. Blaming Inzy or Bob or the Sun or the Moon - wont make a damn difference unless the PCB itself chalks up a LONG-TERM policy to make Pakistan the BEST team in the world. If they do that, then automatically they will come to realize that winning against AUSTRALIA and SOUTH AFRICA - the two top teams of the world - is the only way for Pakistan to become the BEST - and as such they must get rid of players like Razzaq, Rana Naveed, Hafeez, etc who are simply flat-track wonders who will never be mentally tough enough to succeed against top teams. The PCB needs to set up regular series against Australia like India has, so that our player compete against the best and get better with time, instead of playing weak sides and thinking they are god's gift to the cricketing world. Our problem is that after we get thrashed in one world cup we look at the next one - we fire our captain, coach, manager and blame them for everything thats gone wrong. We blame them for the loss. But we NEVER blame the true culprit - that is the so-called 'superstars' who are mentally WEAK and can NOT handle preassure from top teams...and the administrators who have always gotten away scott free with their miss-management. This World Cup is going to be another disaster and once its over - Bob Woolmer will unfortunately be forced out, which will be a huge loss because he`s the only coach Pakistan has ever had who works hard on the players and doesent care if his name or picture is in the paper ( unlike guys like Miandad,Intikhab Alam,Zaheer Abbas etc) who think they are behind every win when they were in charge and blame the players as soon as they lose - but as usual we Pakistanis like to blame others for everything that we fail at so I guess Bob will be forced out as will Inzamam - who despite recent poor form is more mentally tough than any of the Nazirs, Farhats, Hafeezs, Razzaqs, Ranas put together. Instead of blaming Bob and Inzy, we need to blame the mentally weak lot of Razzaq,Rana,Hafeez, and the PCB Management for not preparing players like Yasir Arafat, Salman Butt, and other fast bowlers like Irshad,Niazi,etc - for the last 2 years so we would have a good back up. Razzaq knows his place is assured and as such he has been bowling RUBBISH for over a year now and has been batting like a number 11 slogger who looks like he can get out anytime. Rana Naveed is in the team only because his family must be paying Wasim Bari and Nasim Asharaff some big bucks....because he has been worse than a club bowler since England, yet continues to play for Pakistan. This while Arafat,Niazi,Ayub,etc are sitting at home cooling their heels. Forget abt the World cup ..... this team doesent even deserve a send off.

Speaking of Mr. Rana Naveed ul hassan, i realized that i was the fastest bowler for my "mohalla" team some 10 years back. I know a bit of inswing too. Not mug with a bat either..Any chance of me getting into WC squad as suppose to Rana ?

Dear Kamran:

The team has been thrown into disarray and as a result not performing to their ability.

Inzimam has shown time and again poor leadership qualities. He is not an astute leader and a wise decision maker. At this level, or for that matter in any team sport, decision making process has to evolve through consensus.

The key players have shown enough signs to suggest that all is not well within their ranks and file.

Even to the naked eye, it is evident where the fault line has been lying within the playing eleven.

You put forward your best foot forward while representing your country at this level. This is no way to persist with players who are more of a liability than an asset.

Tired and tried horses who can hardly sprint, will not reach the finish line.

Many would continue to rue the fact that some young prospects from the U-19 champion team who are now in their twenties were ignored, unjustly.

This reality is beginning to dawn sooner rather than later!

Will Dr. Nasim Ashraf (a highly respected professional in his field of expertise)hasten this process of finalizing the PCB charter and constitution, please.

Time may be running out for him as well - as PCB chief of sort (after all, he is an appointee by an interim order - though times are not far when the PCB head would be an elected member and not a selected person).

In this modern era and day of open communications, the PCB chief would be well advised to seek input from anyone and everyone. This can take place courtsey, Kamran Abbasi's Pak spin or PCB could put up a blog of their own on their website and invite suggestions in this regard. There would be a lot of useful input, forthcoming.

Thanks!

Mohsin Malik
A free consultant

I am not embarrased, I am purple with anger! Losing a match to a wonderful outfit is not a shame, but SURRENDERING without a fight is!

I would also like to know what the team DOES the night before the matches. A whole night of "nafal" prayers is not what is needed for the fight coming up the next day. Neither is partying and in some cases boozing. Rest and conservation of energy is what is paramount here. A little prayer always helps though!

What is also required is a team psycho-therapist.
Players should contain their anger in public. If the WI win their match against Pak due to the enforced ban on Shahid Afridi, who is to be blamed?
Player by player, Pakistan has a team as good or even better than any. But as a team? I leave it to you to judge.

There is reallz nothing more to saz to the dismal performance of our so-called cricket professionals. But somehow being a Pakistani I keep hoping against hope that they might click in the World Cup. That is different ball game, we are not fovourites, we could get pitches suited to our type of play and most importantly we are placed in a relatively easy group. By the time we reach the 8 teams group, the likes of Shoiab Akhtar and Umar Gul would have recovered and Afridi would again be available. Maybe I am too much of an optimist.

I would like to know from all of Bob WoolOverEyesMer's groupies, what has he exactly accmomplished during his three year fleecing stint as a pathetic excuse of a coach of Pakistan team? No series wins abroad, and no Sri Lanka doesn't count. No set openers, constant changes to the batting lineup, same pathetic fielding, making the wrong calls during several high profile and important tournament matches (batting first in 2003 Champions Trophy Semis and etc.). Sticking to same pathetic players, spending extra vacations outside of the country, hence no knowledge of domestic players, no eye for any talent even if it him right smack in his eyes. No pro-active strategies against opposition teams, only reacting and taking action after receiving a serious drubbing.

This guy used to make strategy and select players on the basis of what a bunch of kids posted on his website. How can anything serious or prudent be expected from the biggest scam artist and under performing coach. He never got South Africa to do anything, never won the World Cup or won a series against the Australians and if it wasn't the poor Cronje and other great players in the South African team, Bobby boy would have buried them alongside other pathetic teams of that time.

Now, enjoy the fruits of your inferiority complex and your love for any and all things gora...Next coach of Pakistan team ought to be a janitor of some small county ground.

What more do you expect? This team is full of has-been's like Rana Naveed,Abdul Razzaq and Co - they should be ashamed of wearing the national colors with the kind of pathetic performance both Naveed and Razzaq have been displaying. They all think that God will make them win and when they lose - its God's wish. The Tableegis are running the roost. The PCB needs to educate these fools that God does not reward lazy,cowardly and unprofessional fools who embarass their country time and time again. If they want to practice Jamaat, they may kindly get their ass out of the cricket team and leave the cricket to professionals who have some sense of pride in their performance.

Pakistani cricket team should abort "mission worldcup" at once and start selling CHUWARAY!!

SHUKRIA!!!

Here is bit of a advice for my fellow countrymen, please do not waste your time, energy or money watching Pakistan play in the World Cup. Just skip the tournment.

Pakistan would crash out of the tournament rather pathetically very early on. If they some how make it to the second round, they will surely end up being the last team, with most likely no wins to their name.

After the tournament Bob Woolmer would be given the Foreign Ministry along with Nishan-e-Haider, would be the first instance that it would be given to a living person.

Kamran Sahib, The pilgrims WC eleven (minus the messiah; Kaneria)is crapping all over the field AGAIN. The world beater's and THE experienced are eager to return to the pavilion cause their back hurts, that's leading from the front, leading out of the park that is. Enough of this garbage about going with experience! What has experience given Pakistan?. The approach of try and try again with the same result has gotten Pakistan nowhere. Does the term “job security” mean anything? This is typical South Asian mentality. We are too afraid to suggest and accept change. So damn hung up on experience that everything becomes a boring sordid classic. Change is taboo, oh don't suggest debutante cause we can't tinker with tried and failed. Absolute grade A unadulterated horse manure. Look, this is not a typical fan reaction where you lose one and frenzy takes over, this pattern of losing is becoming a norm.

You can pontificate till the cows come home but the fact is you play to win; this attitude of putting up a good fight is nonsense. It’s all about winning and if you go down, you do it so the opponent will walk away thanking their stars that they stole one from you. This Pilgrim attitude of bending over every time and asking; hope you brought some guten schlick with you? Is degrading and embarrassing.

I echo the words of Imran Qureshi from New Jersey and feel his frustration with this “business as usual” crap. Pakistan needs a bold approach. Delusional thinking and hoping for the best has to be stopped. This attitude of Inshallah we will win isn’t going to cut it. (khudie ko kar balund itna kay …)It hasn’t yet! Wouldn’t it be refreshing to do something different even crazy, hell business as usual isn’t getting you any where, be bold, unpredictable, stick your neck out rather than getting beat at the hands of the “They also ran group”.

Who the heck knows, the same fumbling bumbling gang may go to the Caribbean and win a few. This does not change anything. Pakistan needs to clean house starting with the law firm of Bob, Bari and Inzi. Second, select player’s based on form and fitness rather than experience and reputation. AMF!

well as i was watching the game today a friend pointed out that younus is out there after an over or so (a couple i we're lucky) in every match, he's virtually opening the innings. so y not try him as the opener in the first place? i mean even the likes of inzi and yousuf face difficuties when they are new at crease on the other hand i think younus was the only pakistani batsman who played every ball as confidently as he did on the tour from the word go. So...younus opening with nazir/hafeez followed by yousuf and inzi and then all those part timers, is that an option?

Again, Pakistan have shown how feeble they really are. They lack the commitment, effort & drive when it matters in crunch matches. I mean come on anyone including lower ranked teams could have beaten Pakistan today and NO it was not South Africa's effort that contributed to Pakistan's loss. South Africa just went about playing their normal game and Pakistan faltered on their own by playing loose shots. So therefore, South Africa don't deserve the credit, Pakistan self destructed as usual. This is why I think people should not praise South Africa's efforts that highly.
How long will excuses such as "they're not able to play on bouncy tracks" be used as Rameez Raja keeps saying. I think I would have done better then most of the Pakistani batsmen barring Shoaib Malik. At least I would have stuck around until the end of 50 overs and have pushed hard for singles unlike the Pakistani batsmen. They cant even do that! The batsmen are reckless and irresponsible as seen throughout this tour of South Africa. Well, these excuses are no longer acceptable. I think these cricketers don't care about their fans otherwise they will be trying harder. First of all Inzi is not good enough to captain the team, they need a figure like Wasim Akram or Imran Khan to push them on the field. Inzi seems too laid back and doesn't try hard enough to restrict singles, anyway it doesnt matter as fielding isn't one of pakistan's strong points. But at this moment it seems they are also weak in batting and bowling apart from Asif. However, I dont want to sound harsh but I feel Asif needs to bowl a little faster then 80mph. For example when Wasim Akram was in his prime he use to bowl in the high 80's touching 90 and would move the ball both ways as he was the master of swing. Asif is young and he should try doing some weight lifting like Shoiab Akhtar to build on his strength because he looks a bit thin. Back to what I was saying, I don't know what will happen in the world cup things might change and it will be down to Inzi and Bob to give the boys and lift. Personally I would like to see Imran Khan back as a coach and Bob out as at least communication will not be an issue and it seems only Imran can bring back the glory days at least through coaching the team as he did in the 1992 world cup. Therefore, Imran should leave politics and get back to something hes good at to revive Pakistani cricket.

they are a complete bunch of rubbish apart from yusuf.I am a die hard fan but i will not follow this rubbish. As a doctor i been watching them while oncall but never seen such a poor performance. I rather follow Bangladesh atleast they have spine to stand.

Not much surprise here though. Rana Naveed seems to be competing for the title off most expensive bowler in history. Well he and Kaneria should compete to see who gives away the most runs in the worldcup.

I have been just looking at the averages off all the openers that have been used since the previous worldcup. Yasir Hameed stands head and shoulders above the rest with an average of 39.12.Incidentally the second best performer was Saleem Elahi with an average close to 37.00. Well
Elahi seems to have retired. But Yasir Hamid should have been on that plane to the west indies.

The 2 Guys with the worst average Imran Nazir and Mohammed Hafeez get picked go figure. Talk about playing russian roulette. Even Farhat and Butt have better averages then the aforementioned chumps.

Hamid might not be the most Charismatic person nor the most Photogenic,But he gets the job done.Thats all one shouild expect. But it seems the selectors are picking a team thats gonna look good to the corporate sponsors. Rather than one thats gonna win the world cup.

The comments off Geof Boycott during last years series in England concerning Sami,could equally be applied to several other members off the squad. As Boycott said " I know Sami is a good looking lad. I Am sure the Girls Love him and the sponsors Love him but he is absolutely rubbish"....

Pakistan seems to have the worst opening combination in the worldcup. It seems that Hafeez has been picked largely due to his bowling ability.Then swap his batting position with Malik. Hafeez should bat at 6 or 7 as bowler who can bat a bit. While Malik should open and be seen as a batsman who can bowl a bit.

AS for Kamran Akmal what can one say. Rashid Latif made a suggestion at the end off 2005.Saying that Moin KHan should be used in the one dayers and Akmal in the tests. Stating "I believe that will take the pressure of Kamran and playing only in tests will help him improve his confidence and Wicket keeping skills". Shame no body took any notice.

Why did the board order a tour to south Africa just beforore the World cup? surely they should have learnt something from the debacle of 2003.

I believe they should have organised a domestic tournament between the Pakistan main squad and a pakistan second Eleven with the prize being a selection in to the World cup squad. That way they would been able to try out all the contenders and only the in form players would have been chosen on merit. Surely a better way of selecting a squad.

I also dont understand the whole point off having a selection committee. In most other sports it is the coach who gets to pick the final 11.If a coach is being payed a six figure sum. Surely he should be given the right to choose a team that he believes can play according to his strategy. If the coach despite this does not produce results then you sack him.

I also think that Shariyar Khan despite his flaws was in higher leauge in comparison to Nasim Ashraf. THe good Doctor is on course to being the worst head off Pakistan Cricket in History now that takes some doing.

This could actually be a blessing in disguise. When the team gets back to Pak now, the crowds will stone their houses or something akin. That will have the short-term effect of putting the players in 'activity' mode - which means they'll show up at the WC with a fight. They could reach the semis. By then public adulation will be sky-high and they can afford to lose. Cycle repeats.

Really, Pakistan teams have always survived on talent and these days thats in short supply. Plus, modern cricket has evolved: workload means you get injured more often, if you aren't pro-level fit. And teams are super well prepared these days, so random heists based on individual talent alone are less likelier than bygone days.

Whats my point? In such a situation, inconsistency is the only constant. Hitting this low before the Cup provides a better 'chance' that the inconsistently-good phase begins in the WC.
CHEERS.

To: Bob Woolmer at February 14, 2007 8:05 PM: Please think before you put your fingers on the keyboard. Bob Woolmer is a brilliant coach - he did wonders with South Africa, and he was able to do that because the South African players, unlike your pampered Pakistani players, were professionals who wanted to excell in their sport - when Bob made a plan for them to follow on the field - they followed it - when he makes a plan for the Pakistani players - the idiots who go on the field never follow the plan - as soon as a batsman goes after them, your players are too mentally fragile to stick to the original plan and get destroyed by good batsman. Similarly, when your boys go out to bat, they never follow the plan set by the captain and coach, and panic and end up playing stupid shots to get out. Bob Woolmer isent the players Daddy - and they are not kindergarden boys who need their hands to be held when they are playing for the country. Bob is an excellent coach - his job is to do the planning - which he does - if the players from Pakistan are too stupid, dumb, lazy and unprofessional enough not to follow the most basic of cricketing plans and procedures then they should all be blamed for being the dumbest people on earth. Dont blame other people for the fact that your own players are fools and very much over-rated.

The sorry tale just continues.What can be said about Pakistan chances in world cup?Wll they be skittled out just as they were in 2003 world cup?PCB selectors had four years time to make a fighting unit for the upcomming worldcup.Now the stituation is similar to a studnet who did'nt pay attention to his studies all year around and when the exam is just around he will either give up or will study hard to just make it through.Unfortunately oppositions in international cricket are too cruel to give even slightest margin of error to be "just through".
Selectors have persisted with the bowlers like Rana,Razzak,Iftekhaar Anjum and pinned their hopes that these tidly, stalwart bowlers will bowl in the likes of Shoaib Akhter's pace or Asif's impeaching line and length.Dream on!
Bowlers like Rana,Razzak,Iftekhaar Anjum are good enough to restrict runs when the strikers have taken wickets and the opposition is so much under pressuer that they can get rid of their spell by containing them.If they get wickets, that is a blessing.To depend on them that they will strike is just foolish or probably not foolish only when batsmen have put huge runs on the board.
Why can't the PCB selectors think that when Pak had services of Waseem Akram and Waqar Younis, teams like South Africa and Australia would still win but sometimes loose too.How the hell did they imagined that these bowlers will get blessed by Islamic word "Wahee" and will start acting like strike bowlers.
My point is simple folks, Pakistan at this time has team that we saw in 70's and early 80's which on paper always looked good but not on ground.
Imran Khan gave pakistan big names with real talent and nurtured them to be a fighting unit.Unfortunaely we don't have anyone of his abilities to spot the talent and have enough say in selectorial matters and we don't have talented cricketers in terms big strike bowlers or a consistent match winner batsmen.
As I said Asif to us is what Sarfaraz Nawaz was to the team of 70s and few good inconsistent batsmen similar to the batsmen of 70's.
Ladies and gentlemen don't waste time and energy to watch this worldcup.Just wait for someone with good ego and fighting capabilities to take incharge of "Team Pakistan".Talent which is not currently surfacing in doemstic cricket will come up with good batsmen and bowlers.Above all someone powerful and resourceful, whether its a cricket player who has a say in selection or an honest selector will have to spot the talent and give them chance at the right time.
Look at the reserve announced for the world cup Sami,Shahid Nazir.God!what have we come up to.We all know their current performances,with all the beatings they got in tests and onedayers, and yet they are considered.Yoy know why they are considered because they have the experience to take the brunt of getting hit all around the ground.According to selectors and X-criketers they have a famous saying "Hamarey mulak main bhot talent hai".Oh yeah!are u hiding the talent for ur retiremnt,just as you are hiding the money that ur making by getting under the table or over the table "salaries" for the worst services that they have provided by raising a team that looks down and out.
The fact is there is no F***ing talent as for now and selectors have no choice but to stick with the jerks.They wasted 4 years precious time to end up with injuires,scandals and inconsistent form of the so called "talented bowlers" and to some extent batsmen.
They also have another saying which is quite a rhetoric "Hamarey paas duniya key behtareen bowlers hain after Australia aur Pakistan ke strength us ki bowling hai"Oh please!come out of the 90's as we are in the next century.Gonne are the days of Waseem Akram n Waqar Younis where if our batsmen faultered then one would say the oppostion will be out for a lesser score.
Wake up!we are in the next cenutry and world cup is around the corner and yes last but not the least if experience is so imp that sami can get a nod for being in reserves then why not Waseem Akram or Waqar Younis as they can still be better then the jerks in the team or in reserve.
My final say its far better to get someone new then to get these all tried and tested loosers because atleast the new one will bring hope to all of us.
Dream on guys!this world cup is'nt our till we havce fit Shoiab,sif or Umer Gul.Batsmen will play inconsistently but these bowlers have the chnace to take the team out from low score.
Other than that Dream on!

Heart broken,me and rest of 160 million.
we have no talent.

TO: Aamir Azim (Bob's paid Groupie). Cash your check before posting. If your beloved Bobby the scam artist is such a brilliant coach then why has he managed to lose more series then he has won while coaching Pakistan? And I won't even mentioned other problems and short comings he hasn't managed to overcome, leave alone things he has sabotaged...Secondly if he was so effective and great with the South Africans, why the heck did he leave and if south african players were so professional, then a)he has little to do with their performance and b)he should have stuck with them, instead of making a mockery of himself by coaching a bunch of illiterate pakistani panidoos (Your inferiority complex know no bound).

If his job is to do planning, then what good plans has he ever made? Oh you mean trying 2000 different openers in three years, or is it sticking to bits and pieces allrounders who can't even walk right on the field, let along bat, bowl, or field, or was it the decision to bat first after winning the toss on several occasions, only to bundled out for a subpar score???

Seriously, if your poor old Bobby is having such a torrid time because he is stuck with a bunch of ignorant Pakistani imbeciles then why doesn't he do the dignified and resign or milking PCB or any other sucker is his main forte?

Look, Aamir Azim. If your comments are aimed towards me then you should realize after having read my initial posting that I'm not denying that Bob Woolmer isn't a good coach BUT it seems that he is having trouble putting his message across to the players as English isn't their first language and Imran Khan would do a much better job as coach of the Pakistani team as firstly he speaks the same language as the players and secondly he is an icon in Pakistani cricket and would be an inspiration to the players as coach. Another thing I would like to add is that Wasim Akram should stop wasting his time on Indian bowlers like Irfan Pathan and give a few bowling lessons to our bowlers about line and length cause they are really struggling with bowling to go with their batting. And YES AAMIR AZIM I do know about what great work Bob Woolmer done for South African cricket so their is no denial on that by me so you should read and fully understand what I have written before criticizing my comments. Thanks

Firstly Kamran atlast you realised that kaneria should be part of pakistans world cup squad, he is a match winner and with an attacking captain (ala imran khan) can be a real threat in the ODI format. though with inzis defensive mindset his talents may be wasted.

What i cant understand is how you were so certain in wanting mediocre players such as hafeez and abul rehman and praise for someone like shahid nazir. These players are clearly out of their depth in international cricket.

How different in quality, preparation is the current sqaud going into the 2007 world cup compared to the 2003 world cup sqaud?

2003 -Saeed Anwar, Taufeeq Umar, Saleem Elahi , Younis Khan, Yousuf Youhana Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi ,Abdur Razzaq ,Azhar Mahmood
Wasim Akram, Rashid Latif, Waqar Younis, Mohammad Sami,Shoaib Akhtar
Saqlain Mushtaq

The 2003 sqaud had some good opening batsmen and on paper had a decent middle order look to it. As an ODI player you can say that Muhammed Yousuf has probably improved whereas Younis has faltered to decieve more often then not and Inzamam right now looks like the one that performed so badly in 2003 in S.A

The likes of Razzaq, Afridi have pretty much remained the same and havent really stepped up to that next level interms of performing with any consistancy. On paper the bowling had a world class look to it sadly Wasim, waqar, saqi were all at end of their careers and there powers were passed their best.

Looking at current sqaud we have no decent openers and the middle order again on paper looks decent but with no solidarity at top what base is their to build from. Comparing the form of the two keepers latif v Akmal is like comparing a ferrari to a three wheel van at moment. (such have akmals standards dropped)

The bowling attack right now looks toothless and its only if asif, Gul etc.. are fit then pakistan will have fire power.

Pakistan went to 2003 world cup with a slightly better sqaud then the one they have now in my opinion. The problem is the same fragilities are there in both sqauds. players past there best, an apparent lack of motivation and lack of direction.

Pakistan got thumped 4-1 in S.A before last world cup and were a shambles in the tourney, they have been beaten comprehensively 3-1 in this series and nothing can make me think right now that the same outcome wont occur in the carribean!

after seeing the whole month i beleive that we should try our (B) team in the world cup, they may do better or maybe lift world cup. seeing is believing.

Confessions of a Terminal Pakistan Cricket Fan ...

Dear Lord, perhaps time has come for me to pull my own plug
The pain is too great and the groin too sore from being kicked so much
Either give them a cinch of the passion I have or take my passion for good,
For I truly can take it no more
I am now tired
I am tired of making excuses for them
I am tired of hoping for miracles that don't come
I am tired of seeing people half my years move as if twice my age,
And I am tired of 'Talent' unwilling to apply
I am tired of paying to watch my heart ripped up, spit upon and shoved down my throat
I am so ashamed
I am ashamed of inviting people over to watch and apologizing for what they see
I am ashamed of always saying "Maybe next time"
I am ashamed of stealing my time from my job to watch misery unfold,
And I am ashamed of dozing at work for I did not sleep when I should
I am ashamed of waving my family away and instead letting my passion ride
But I am such a miserable, hopeless case
For tomorrow yet again I will sneak out of my bed at 3 AM,
Pay a pretty penny and watch my cricket team play
I will see another pile of rubbish being bowled,
And yet another Boom Boom that won't
Extras will surely rule their day
I will again be making tea for my friend,
And saying "Maybe today was just not their day"

Pakistan Supreme Court Ruling
A seven year old boy was at the centre of a courtroom drama yesterday when he challenged a court ruling over who should have custody of him.
The boy has a history of being beaten by his parents and the judge initially awarded custody to his aunt, in keeping with the child custody law and regulations requiring that family unity be maintained to the highest degree possible. The boy surprised the court when he proclaimed that his aunt beat him more than his parents and he adamantly refused to live with her.
When the judge suggested that he live with his grandparents, the boy cried out that they also beat him.
After considering the remainder of the immediate family and learning that domestic violence was apparently a way of life among them, the judge took the unprecedented step of allowing the boy to propose who should have custody of him.
After two recesses to check legal references and confer with child welfare officials, the judge granted temporary custody to the Pakistan Cricket Team, whom the boy and the courts firmly believe are "not capable of beating anyone."

We as a nation are a passionate lot. When it comes to cricket... more so. When we lose a seires like this, everyone is looking for a jaw to punch.

Here's what I think:

1) Imran Nazir/ Afridi are entertainers. They like to hit which is good... They usually get out when the top edge the ball. Bob... please get them back on the marble slab and have a machine bowl them bouncers at 100mph and they can only rest once they have successfully hooked or pulled 6 consecutive deliveries without top edging.

2) Sami is an idiot... surey in a nation of 160 million people we can come up with 20-30 decent fast bowlers.... hold on I just remembered India of the 80's... has Rana forgotten how to bowl? Isnt he the same guy that was the scourge of Sehwag when Sehwag was pummelling Shoaib and co? He did not swing the ball in the ODI's... were they using a different ball?

3) Hafeez, another idiot. He set the tone for the last ODI... waste 5 balls, get out on the 6th to break the cycle. Why do we think we can just waste balls bowled outside the offstump.... so if SA bowls 300 balls outside the off... we leave them all? What exactly are we achieving by letting balls through and getting out? Getting used to the pace of the wicket??? Well then when we get out we just wasted 5 balls AND a Pakistani Wicket.... am I the only one irritated at this double whammy?

4) Why is Yousuf a deer in front of headlights when it comes to Pollock... SA has him figured out, his past glories are useless if he cannot get past playing Pollock... Grow up Yousuf... work on your game... Talent will get you NO where... effort will... oh and this was Pakistan's sole batting success story on the trip.
A lot of potential... but no thought behind the play.

5) Younis Khan... Can't say much about him, some bad shots... but overall had the right attitude... needs some luck, should come through.

6)Inzy oh Inzy, why thou art batting past number 6 oh Inzy... boggles the mind. Arent thou the best batsmen (lets forget Captain for a while) of the team)? Why Don't you speak to the other players and use some on field advice? It's painfully obvious your own ideas are not enough against a top team.... neither is your unipolar hope of "trying hard".... the boys are neither trying hard.... nor is "trying hard" the solution to your team's ills... I am curious... what wa sthe plan in the last two ODI's... really what were we trying to do?

7) Akmal... the less said of him the better. He needs some rest... he really does. What has he done right this series... name one thing. He has forgotten the basics... THE BASICS!!! How can you forget how to keep, how to focus, how to watch the ball.... aaaarrrggg! Why didn't we give "whatshisface" the reserve keeper a chance? look at Ntini... bowled much better after a little rest.... Why was Asif played again... are we trying to get him to breakdown before the world cup... well we tried...

I am not sure with the current form of the players that you can expect a whole lot form the selectors...

Here's some free advice for the WC2007.

Lower your expectations and save yourself the grief.

Arif out!!

I agree with you, Mr Abbasi. Except about the frightened rabbits part. That's not Pakistan. It's just the way Inzamam leads them. In your previous post someone put a comment, "My greatest wish is to see Pakistan win the World Cup under sleeping Inzy." That is exactly how he captains. I would like to see a different captain for Pakistan, maybe Razzaq or Malik, but its too late now. And Pakistan have added Shoaib Akhtar to the squad, even though Sami, though injured, is more match-fit than him. He should be in the squad. Yousuf can't be blamed for getting out early. He can't score in every match. People here are insulting Razzaq's bowling, but he has been bowling very well, especially considering he has come from an injury and the paultry totals he has to bowl to defend. And on Akmal, I thought Younis Khan could kep, like he did before and that would give a spot to another player. Razzaq and Malik should get more bowling, Razzaq first-change. Pakistan have reached the World Cup finals twice, in 1992 and 1999, under their best captains. Compare Inzamam to them. At least under Imran Khan or Wasim Akram or Waqar Younis they tried to fight back.

"Pakistan's equipment went missing recently but nobody told us that they'd lost their heart as well.
"

BRILLIANT LINE!

i dont think i have any words that come out at the moment to describe the embarassment that im feeling. its nothing new for us as pakistan fans we are used to the teams tragic attempts at putting up a challenge against teams. When the captain looks dismal and unmotivated in the field how do you expect the rest of the team to perform? Inzamam's face tells the story of Pakistan cricket. The only way to put a smile on it is to lift a World Cup...but the likelihood of that is close to snowfall in the Sahara Desert.

I agree with everyone, but I'm suprised that people are still whinging and moaning. When has pak cricket ever been professional. They are a team of talented individuals who find it impossible to compliment each other. Teams like Australia, SA and some others need to play well as a team to beat each other. In Pakistan cricket only 2 or 3 players (and occasionally just Afridi) need to show a moment of brilliance to blow away the opposition. It is this unpredictable talent that scares other teams s to play no team in world cricket takes Pakistan lightly

Am I embarrassed? NO, not at all. And that's because I could see it coming as clearly as the daylight. Reading your thoughts Kamran, I couldn't help but smile because you remind me of Ghalib... even in your dejection there's hope. But here's a piece of advice from a novice to a doctor: You cannot base your diagnosis on hope sir. While it's great to be optimistic, it's so much more important to be realistic. And so here's my prescription for the team: "AB IN KO DAWA KI NAHI, DUA KI ZAROORAT HAI." sob, sob.

Kamran Abbasi, before you go into a complete state of shock and denial, you must realize that this bunch from Gojra and vicinity is not what you call a team. Teams are built with spirit and purpose over a long period of time. A winning culture is inculcated. Unfortunately, the only culture seems to be "agriculture" over here.

Inzamam has used up the religion card way ahead in advance. It's pretty clear that religion is not making the team perform any better. Now he has no gas left in his tank except his glorious record to derive respect from the players. If he was a thinking man, he would calculate that the World Cup campaign would take that away from him too, because the team doesn't stand a distant chance. I dread at the thought of a humiliating exit of another great player. If I were his advisor, I'd tell him that this is the right time to retire (at least from ODIs). His tired body is sending all the wrong signals to the rest of the team too.

i think its too late to fuss abt team selection n the problem v r facing at the top order of our batting but i think its abt time v should realize tht its the batting order thts costing pak virtualy every single game. pak should send shoib malik at num 3 where he's been so prolific and y not try younis khan as an opener, hell every time he comes out 2 bat he has 2 deal with the new ball and also since every other combination has failed y not send him 2 open or even mohammad yousuf bcoz if pakistan is 2 dictate terms at the start of every game so they can control it then y not send our best batsman upfront, i'd rather c him go n take things to the oppsition's throat rather go n rebuild the lost momentum..and i seriously dont think this pakistan team is as bad as it seems right now its just tht v r not playin with the right batting order. even if the batting clicks in every single game v still need shoib akhtar this cant b done without him i know asif is excellent but v really need a complete lunatic in our bowling ranks to go all the way so lets hope he's there in the world cup .

You know whats more embarrassing than getting thrashed in England and South Africa and whitewashed in Australia? Being world champions and getting thrashed in England and South Africa and whitewashed in Aus!!!
We dont deserve to win the world cup. Let other teams, who atleast give their oponents a fight, battle for the title.

I hope I never see Inzi after the world cup. Woolmer needs to go as well. All he does is overload the team with bits and pieces and hopes somebody somewhere performs and saves Bob's ass. And like Sarah said, kick taliban out of the team plus players who take their spot in the national team for granted like Razzaq. Rana atleast represents his country with a passion and bowls, bats and fields his heart out. He's just going through a bad patch. He did very well last time he toured W.I and I'm sure he'll come good again.

I said this before in a comment to one of your previous blogs and I am saying it again. Inzamam is going in the matches with a defeatist mentality, he is looking to save a match rather than win it. How else can you explain sending Kamran Akmal at four in the batting order.... forget about Imran Khan trying to get Inzamam to bat at 3, now he can't bring himself to bat at 4 or 5 !!????
Get on with it man!! get on with it!! send Shoaib Malik to open with Nazir or send him at 3 if Younis khan cannot handle it there. Yousuf & Inzamam at 4 and 5, and Afridi at 6. FIX this order and for cryin out loud DO NOT send youngsters ahead of you when we are we are in trouble with 3 down for 18 runs.... this is the time for the captain to come in!!!!
I will still back this team up (Who else??) but someone please shake Inzi out of this defeteast mentality.
(Woolmer is a coach and likes to play safe but I still thinks its Inzamam's decisions to send all these youngsters ahead of him and Yousuf).

Following lines were written before the 5th ODI:

I don’t see them as Eleven Cricketers on the Playing Field, I see them as Eleven Ambassadors of Pakistan, however these Eleven Ambassadors do emulate our Foreign Ministry which is non existent. Does anyone in the Team management stress any value of Body language?

Well, we tried a Bowling Coach, a Fielding Coach, instead of all different flavor of Coaches, short of Exorcism, perhaps we should try a Priest now….I think I spoke too soon, they have Mushtaq now. If he doesn’t do the trick, then PCB should request the services of Dr. Phil from US as a Motivation Coach, if he is unavailable, then Jerry Springer be a good choice to settle all the infighting.

PCB may have found a Solution to Eradicating Poverty from Pakistan. According to some Conservative estimates PCB has earned more than Five Hindered Trillion Frequent Flyer Points by Shuttling Players in and out just in the last Two Away series. PCB and PIA are working on a formula to Convert these Points into some Tangible Assets that will be sold to certain “Petro Dollar” Investment Cartel from our Neighborhood and then we will label it as a Foreign Direct Investment. We need few more Away Cricket Series and Pakistan be a Filthy Rich Country.

I just realized that I have a great ability in Predicting the Past. Following was my contribution to the Blog after Pakistan lost the 4th ODI. It is timeless; I wish I could be more Optimistic, but I don’t have to change anything on it:

A Quitter Never Wins and a Winner Never Quits.

Where was the Professionalism, the Fighting Spirit, or even a little Resistance today? Where was the Motivation, Team Spirit, and most of all the Leadership with Balls? Sorry, I forgot, I was talking about Pakistan Cricket Team....

It Hurts to see them go down this way. Giving 1% is not Good Enough...

We need to Stop Drinking Water from the Clouds. There are no Shortcuts to Fitness or any Walk of Life.

I will Turn Sarcasm Off with this Quote from Einstein on his Theory of Insanity which is quite Applicable to our Beloved Team: Insanity is Defined as, "Doing the Same thing over and over Again, Expecting Different Results."

Why Pakistani player had no spirit of fight and why they gave up so easy? no commitment at all? it just does not look right to me.
what happened to Younis, Yousuf, Inzi and Razzaq? They have bailed us out at several occasions. But in this ODI tour they were total disappointment.
If PCB, BOB WOOLMER OR INZI is listening, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, DO NOT TAKE KAMRAN AKMAL and RANA to the Carribeans. Enough is enough! They do not deserve another chance.
I am still hopeful for the better performance by our experienced players in the WC.
Mr. Kamran Abbasi I am embarrassed but being a very passionte and Die Hard supporter of the Pakistani team I am hoping to see a re-energized and full of figthing spirit Pakistani team.
All the best.

Shoaib injured....Gul out of practice...Asif will crack...Afridi banned...

Pakistan should skip this world cup....start working for 2011 world cup...maybe they have a chance at that one..from the look of it...maybe not even 2011 !

I think its time for a restructuring of the PCB...get some ex-players in who know what the game is about (i.e. Imran Khan) And, when it comes to the world cup, Pakistan should forget about it this time round. 12 months ago they were right up there with Aus and SA but in the last 2 months they have shown their lack of commitment and the PCB has shown that they are inept at doing their jobs. How hard can it be to pick a squad? How hard can it be to recognise failure and put it right?

kamran! its a shame that we can't even 'fight' but last two ODI's pak team went down like they were fixing the game or something it is an embarring situation for us , but I can't understand how our team will go home to face the people , these (team) guys are hopeless and only one person stood so tall and I am so proud of this guy ASIF is my hero.Nasim Asharf should withderaw his team from the world cup.

mate i agree with your comments whole heartedly, but i feel that with the inclusion of Shahid Khan Afridi will inspire us to win the World Cup

I have felt the pain of current defeats as much as the next Pak fan but I would like to remind people that Pakistan cricket history is loaded with examples of abject failure followed by glorious success and we should not forget that these are basically the same players that had until recently been winning consistently home and away and conditions in WI will be completely different leading to a strong performance from all Asian teams especially Pak. Let us also not forget about England's recent success against Aus with an inexperienced and in my opinion far weaker ODI team than Pak. It just goes to show how quickly form and results can change in ODI cricket.

So let's put this behind us now and get behind the team for the WC. Good luck boys !!

Kamran you every word is true. We completely lost it today. The whole team seemed numbed, fightless, spiritless, no sign of any last attempt to play for dignity or even play for themselfs. We ned to ask hard question to ourselfs if we wana have any chance to even salvage our pride in world cup. My biggest worry is that our batsman had no technic what so ever to play sloging shots. Especially afridi,razaq,mali,kamran,farhut,inzi when they do slogging their eye hand cordination their foot work their balance and finding a gap is not there. They just close their eyes and hit the ball and pray to allah that it goes out of ground by itself. We need not only to lift our spirit, dignity and pride but also work in nets day in day out until the world cup to straighten up any deficiencies to be able to get to semi finals of the world cup. Kamran the whole nation is feeling embarrassed. The only hope and pray that i had is that this disappointment is short one. Last thing i hope all the pakistani player read your column and the comments on it everyday. They will learn stuff here that they have not learned in their long cricketing years. Allah Hafiz

Dear collegues,
I can understand,why we all are upset.Yes our team put us down.But please understand that south africa is extremely strong generally in oneday and specially in home.If you see there record from last few years none of the team even Australia able to beat them in there backyard. But we should get some positive from the series Pakistan really put South Africa at the wall in test series and if Kallis and Prince didnt play the world class inning .Pakistan would do the wonder. Look at south africa's bowling all there bowling was fresh and fit. Look our bowling,which was tired, weak and unfit. It would be a complete contrast if pakistan would have fit Shoab,Gul and Shabbir. Pakistan batting also become demoralised. I still have high hopes with Pakistan team .People are so upset that they become vulgar(I dont know how they are allowed)and cricketer's faith. If this team is relegious,please think it as a strenght(Yousuf is the most relegious and tablighue,what do you think about him). At least these cricketers are not spending times in the nightclubs or beaches in Westindies and praying in there hotel rooms. I am sure that pakistan team will be different in WC.Please dont loose your hope let me give you three examples. 1)1992, Pak almost ready to come back home and evantually won the wc.2) 2003 india lost from nz test series 2-0(inng defeats) and one day 5-2(experience was so bad that BCCI postpond there 2007 tour to nz prior to wc 2007 and instead of that arrange two home one day series)but india reached in the wc final,only team defeat them was champion australia.3)2006- 2007england thrased in ashes by 5-0 and ready to leave home. But fought back and won the one day series in 14 years and defeat aussies three consecutive time.So please dont loose hope and pray for our team.
Atta-ur-Rehman,MD USA

Don't be so histrionic Kamran.

Remember Italy before the 2006 World Cup? Exactly.

And while we're on football metaphors, what happened to Brazil in 1982 or the Czech Republic for the last ten years, or England last year?

Australia is the only team which is able to maintain the sort of intensity South Africa has recently shown. South Africa did the same thing before the 1996 World Cup, and lo and behold, one Brian Lara innings knocked them out.

All Pakistan needed to win the World Cup was a reasonably sound opening pair (two from Salman Butt, Shoaib Malik and Yasir Hameed) plus its matchwinners which are 1) The middle order, 2) The all-rounders and 3) Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif.

I'm alarmed that the erratic Imran Nazir has replaced more dependable openers, but overall I think the squad is fine.

Australia was crap for the first half of the 1999 World Cup, but won it. And you have the audacity to mention Imran's "Cornered Tigers", but you have forgotten to mention that they lost their first match in the 1992 World Cup by a humiliating 10 wickets and then, after squeaking past Zimbabwe, were all out for 74 against England.

So calm down, Kamran, don't panic, and wait to see the middle-order and all-rounders hurt the opposition, and the match-winning bowlers (Asif, Shoaib, Kaneria and maybe even Rana) strut their stuff.

This is a good team. India did much worse on their South African tour, and no-one is writing them off.

Tell me, Why was Asif playing. The kid has been overworked to the point of exhaustion and now he's picked up an injury. He shoulda been rested. Obviously we weren't gonna win this series so why risk him. We need him to be in top shape for the World Cup, not that it's gonna matter too much since we aint gonna make it to the semis. And i agree with Kamran about Shoaib Malik. He realy has been misused at #7. He was Pakistans most consistent batsmen this series. Oh well i saw this coming. Hopefully Bob and Inzi both go after WC. I meanthings can't possibly get any worse can they?

So many cry babies and nay sayers. India lost to SA 4-0. We lost 3-1. India went on for a landslide victory over WI and now winning SA. We won same way from WI and probably win from SA on our home ground same way SA has won from us. Get up guys this is sports. I see one problem with Pakistani team, opening pair. We loose opener in the first few overs and all the pressure comes on the shoulders of YY and Inzi. How many times we have seen that the opening pair gives us a good start and we still loose a match? In the second match we got a good start from one of the opener and we crushed SA. I am not ashamed of Pakistani teams's performance. They had a long trip with one regular fast bowler. Not bad at all.

My previous comment was on the team squad for the world cup blog. I must say I made a mistake when I chose my first 11 players (playing 11), but not in the choice 15. I stick to my team in low times and high. Guys and Girls, remember its just a game. No need to become all "jazbaati" and hyped up. Imagine yourselves typing in this blog after a thumping win for Pakistan in the 4th ODI against South Africa. One day has changed a lot of minds hasn't it? I personally would like to correct myself here and say that I was wrong in excluding Danish Kaneria from the starting 11 for Pakistan. He is a gritty spinner and in his column, Kamran has mentioned that its one thing successfully defending against him in the tests, but an altogether different ball game when it comes to attacking him in ODI cricket format. Mushtaq Ahmed can finally be utilized as coach now as danish kaneria has finally landed in the squad. Umar Gul and Asif together will prove to be very strong opening bowlers as I foresee. Rana Naveed no doubt has been the best and the worst of Pakistan bowlers at different times, but I know that with his ability, he can come back very strong against most sides. The world cup is another tournament, its another day, and I hope the team can lift their spirits after the loss to S Africa. Inzamam, as I have previously pointed out, has to come up at number three (or four if Younis is keen for no.3). Imran Khan as a bowling all-rounder did that in 1992, and won the World cup. No comments on the Religious beliefs of the team, no matter how much I agree or disagree to them, if they work for team unity, it works in practice. I would give Rana Naveed a game against West Indies to prove himself and then might opt for Azhar Mahmood as his replacement, for which Azhar needs to be included in the squad, sadly he is not.
PCB cannot take any credit from a winning Pakistan team under current practices. They need to get their act together. The team might still end up winning a lot, just based on pure talent and skill. Bob Woolmer is a good coach despite this series loss. The coach can train, plan, make the team practice, but he can't go out in the field 6 down to bat for them. the batsmen have to score runs. the bowlers take wickets, and the keepers more importantly nowadays have to take the catches. Good luck pakistan. I am hopeful and I support my team.

I completly agree with everything and every die hard pakistani fan like myself.It's a damn shame that these people call themselves professionals.I mean in the united states you can't watch cricket as easily as in pakistan or a cricketing nation you have to love the game to still pursue it.I am really tired of reading about pakistan's lame embarresments on cricinfo and tired of feeling like a six-year-old dissapointed in a promise made by someone who never really meant to keep it.It's just so disheartening to read that shoaib might not even play in his last world cup or that pakistan have half a team.The most frustrating part is that everyone knows that pakistan have more than the potential needed to make a straight run right to the world cup but the way in which the entire managment is run is less than rubbish they should just let some guy off the streets of karachi head the PCB because at least he will care about more than himself HE will have pride of being a pakistani supporter HE will have a heart and, even HE, will do much much better than anyone is in the entire managment now.BUT,and there is a big BUT.............. u can't help but deep down inside(really deep down) think that all this is a nightmare and SOMEONE out of SOMEWHERE will jump out and scream "PSYCHE!!!!!!" and pakistan will be back to their winning ways and everyone will come back and click and the world will watch in amazement as they make their way to their second title of champs.Sounds like a dream? I would'nt put it past them not this bunch they fluctuate as much as the electricity does in the country's cities and they can come back and take all this criticism and each player comes back and proves the world wrong and i can finally keep my head up high and say: "yes i am a pakistan team supporter...."and dare i say it"the world champions' supporter"?

To Farhan Arif: What most pakistan fans are disappointed with is the manner in which the team lost most of the matches. As others have already mentioned many times over, its ok to lose to a team if you go down fighting. Getting whipped by 9 or 10 wickets day in day out despite being regarded as a talented team shows a lack of dedication, strategy, discipline, fighting spirit, and match fitness. A less skillful team with all of the aformentioned qualities will always stand a better chance of winning matches.

I believe SA is less talented than Pakistan...on paper...but whips theirs sorry bums because of their dedication, discipline and hardwork. And they always put up a fight.

Pakistan's world cup squad looks very average. i am so dissapointed in the squad that has picked - it lacks balance.

Yes kamran i was embarrassed by our pathetic display today but not surprised as there are too many bits and pieces and mediocre players that have been selected and the batting order sucks with yousuf and inzi as low as 5 and 6.

The only way the current squad could win the world cup is if they are all fit, no drugs cloud hanging over shoaib and asif, and the best 11 is picked from the 15 and that 11 has to play every single match (super eight onwards) as we are so thin on back up with club cricketers like rao and hafeez.

Ive waited four years for this tournament after our abysmal exit last time round and to be honest looking at the squad and the uncertainties with injuries i am not looking forward to it.

I dont know why all the comparisons are being made to India. So the fact that Pakistan lost to SA by a slightly less embarrassing margin makes it all ok ? This is the herd mentality that needs to be avoided - just beating India or performing better than India is not ok. Pak should strive to match or exceed the high standards set by Australia (and to a lesser extent, SA). The Pak team has to measure their prowess against the best in the world, not just their next door neighbors. Wake up people, this isn't 1947 anymore. Jeez.

Thanks FJ, I totally agree to the facts about SA and their dedication, hard work, spirit and discipline. no team can defeat another like they did to Pakistan without those qualities. All I want to emphasise on is that this is our team. even before the 1992 world cup, our team was known to be weak and inexperienced, compared to others. In ODI cricket, 5 overs can tilt the game. I know our team had lost the vigour, the strength and will power to win and hence lost by 10 and 9 wickets bringing us all disappointments and humiliation, but they are the same team that have brought us honours so many times. Although I am a yasir Hameed and Azhar mahmood fan, I must say that the selectors have more experience than us all and hopefully their faith will be vindicated. I would like Kamran to just answer a question of mine that i have had since I started reading his blogs:

Do the selection committee and PCB ever ask for feedback and advice from commentators/ journalists/ ex coaches/ ex players or technical advisors on matters?

In Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistan have opted for a bowling option, and Imran Nazir is included as a hitter, not consolidator. I think in Danish Kaneria, on the west Indies' dry, rough tracks, we have the best spin bowler taking away Muralitharan in ODI cricket. I am not speaking of his record, but his potential here, as his lack of utilization in ODI means the world knows lesser about him in terms of being able to attack his bowling. There is one person really struggling to keep his place in the side. I hope his fortunes change soon, because believe it or not, its Inzamam- ul- Haq. The way out for him is to lead from the front. My message to the team now is : relax, recuperate, rebuild, plan. We have faith in you, but do have enough?

Yo we need to get some Ice hockey trainers for Pakistan. Those guys are always in great condition night in and night out. And they play way more then our cricketers. Lets get some of those trainers and get our guys fit so there is are no more pulled groins or hamstrings.

I believe simply the if the head is weak so shall that effect the body. Pakistan's cricket slection committee is become quite shamble from these "not fit" labels" on player and Mr. Woolmer either needs to grip his team not his country, his devotion to this team is questionable to say the least. Mr. Woolmer or should Mr. S.A. why dont you defend your team players as well as bring the person who helped your bowler improve back, Mr W. Younis, why not show some point of spirit and your knowledge. Well also I think we need another Imran Khan, which is highly unlikely, to kick some rears and show some backing for their team not the selection committee. You have some make ex-players who want to help improve the game. Why not use them???? We also need a better coach may be from the Homeland who will fight for his team as well as push them full throttle into may be winning the next World Cup category.

I have come to the conclusion STOP THINKING ABOUT PAKISTAN WINNING THE WORLD CUP....i think they will not go beyond super 8s.....what a waste of money and time .....

To -***ZARAK KHAN -
We are in the same boat buddy ... AHH, can't get rid of this passion, no matter how hurt and bruised we are ..
"I am ashamed of stealing my time from my job to watch misery unfold,
And I am ashamed of dozing at work for I did not sleep when I should"

I couldn't stop smiling for a while after reading this. As exactly i am doing the same thing.

Kamran bhai do us a huge favour : Tell Bob woolmer and Inzi that they are lazy idiots !!

indeed kamran bhai, sure i am embarrassed by a pethatic display of cricket from pakistani team...no resistance or fighting back strategy is seen by our national hero's..what happen to the skipper...some thing should be done about him....IF indian cricket board can sack ganguly on a bad performance, then why not let ...inzimam go...?..he is not above any one ....he did not performe well in this ODI series..and his "chamcha's" razzaq,and kamran akmal are even worst then any other players...why are they still around...i would say..to PCB..we are not winning the world cup,,lets just send an entire new team with the exception of "afridi,moyo,and probably younas....make afridi a captain...i bet this will be a much better team then the current jokers ..playing for pakistan....

so now pakistani team is missing its shame and pride too. I thought it was merely their batting ... errr equipment lost. I have seen Bangladesh, Holland and even Canadian team show more heart than these superstar. It is the same story year after year. I remember the match when Pakistan was 17 for 7 wickets (against WI I believe) and Zaheer Abbas then helped the team go to 60 all out. I remember the match when pakistan was beaten like a school team by India in last world cup. And I remember today (and 11th Feb) when Imran Nazir (and may be Younis) played like men. Inzi played like a street player again. You would guess that someone who has scored over 10000 runs will have a bit of class, but he still shuffles in his crease at the start of the innings. I mean what did he learn in last 17 years if he still does the same mistake. Sure he is a great batsman, but did he actually play for pride today? Fine, Imran and Hafeez and Younis and Yousuf failed, but where is the captain's knock. Last time we saw that was in England. Then we compare him with players like Ponting and Tendulkar and Lara. Only if Younis hadn't done that blunder before the Champions Trophy, Inzi would have lost his captaincy.

So where does this lead us now - as usual, the street players will play in the world cup like every other time - full of uncertainty. Here is something I have observed, SA, AUS etc batsman come out with confidence at its peak and starts going down if they can't play properly. Pakistani batsmen go out with confidence at zero and start building up. I mean, this is enough. I hope the WC will yield something more exciting than this performance.

Let's see ...

I totally agree with you, Kamran! I think positive and am not an emotional person. I always support Pakistan even in the defeats. But last 2 games, they way our team played, it was a display of depression and embarrasement. That made us sick! The team turned the whole nation down. INZY must provide us an explanation. I would be mad to hear from him "Jee! boyz were tired in the end of series" upon his return to home.

forget everything else DUMP INZIMAM first and foremost,look at atleast the last 10 to 12 ODIs what has he done besides being a lousy fielder and a lethargic uninspiring captain ? just prayers and beards which are getting longer by the day instead of batting averages won't cut it, a big fat ZERO,time to DUMP INZI !!!!!!

everryone is pouring their heart out but unfortunately none of our national players will be able to understand our emotions because its ENGLISH.MR Abbassi talk in PUNJABI.

wow i am astonished to see so many ppl write about the way pakistan lost ... n i am truely embaressed by performence of pakistan in da last two matches ... itz not the defeat hurts its the manner in which we were defeated hurts, i have been there personally in a situation where some guys just dun show any spirit or any thought of fight they just dun care enuff to feel for the loss, yes im talkin abt small local matches bt there are some who i have seen given there heart and soul till the very last run..... but today it was so sad that pakistan showed no charecter when asif took a wicket it looked as if they are like the old boys from 90's who just want to win to matter what when it matters ... im not that big fan of shoaib but even he has a sprit may it be for fame or what ever but he gives in a fight which i din see today from inzamam .. i mean by saving asif's 5 overs what did he think he would b able to achieve ? i mean if you are gonna go down atleast pick your gun and shoot rather dan dyin in a foxhole .... n personally i feel razzak has jus lost intrest in cricket the way he has bowled shows no intent of any enthusiasm its like seeing a robot bowl just doin it as a job rather then doing something out of passion n pride.playing a sport should be about you being passionate of the game rather dan thinkin it as your job n then playing for your country is something so remarkable that itself shud be enuff to b motivated

Now its up to the players only... they should realize that millions of people are depending on them and step up to the opportunity. We are forced to question the commitment of the team since they are failing to even put up a fight. Fine, we loose, but all of us would like to see a team that goes down fighting. **
Spirit and self belief, that is all what is needed in our side. Pakistani team has the potential to win the worldcup, its a deep down dangerous gut feeling i have.

PCB and Inzi did not select team on performance.
This is the result of their injustice.

Inzi special blessings to Kamran Akmal, Abdul Razak, Sohaib Malik & Naveed-ul-Hasan brought this result.

Careless wicket keeper was failed in whole series but Inzi never tried second wicket keeper. Still PCB could replace him by Sarfraz Ahmed or Mohammad Salman.

I am sure they will give better performance than Kamran Akmal.

Naveed ul hasan is in terrible form.
PCB could give chance to Anwar Ali, young fast bowler who was our hero in the under 19 world cup and doing very good in current Quaid-e-Azam trophy.

Abdul Razak is completely lost his form.

Inzamam or PCB could try in form young all rounder Fawad Alam,
he is doing wonderful in the domestic cricket.

By himself Inzi performance is declining very fast.

Our batting was terrible in whole series, especially openers.
Asim Kamal was there but he was sent without any appearance in the game.

Inzamam time is over.

Inzi, for the sake of Pakistan cricket team,
please announce ur retirement b4 the world cup.

Inshallah, we will win world cup easily without you and ur dectorial captain ship.

MERIT is essential for any win.

This is the result of the selection.
PCB and Inzamam should learn lesson and ask ALLAH to forgive them.
We want change in the world cup.
Captain performance with bat and head was terrible.

Gulab Khan
Peshawer

I think the Pakistan team is very down at the moment. The players have lost their spirit and perhaps their energy, this is clearly shown in their fielding. The players are not taking responsibility whether it is their batting or bowling. The openers and the batsmen below Mohammad Yousuf with the eception to shoib malik are not taking responsibility at the crease and trying to build a total for the team, they just play rash shots. The back up bowlers looked out of their league against S.A batsmen, especially Rana Naved who has become a burden on the team.It seems as if Pakistan haven't groomed enough players at home or the selectors are making bad decisions but having a team filled with allrounders isn't right, especially when they don't fire most of the time. The one thing that has eluded Pakistan's grasp for a very long time is consistency. But Pakistan is a team to pull out surprises and I am expecting one this time.

yes...it was very dissapointing, but there is always another way to look at this. I would "like" to think that Pakistan needed to go through such humiliation before the WC so they can realize their problems before the WC even starts. Do you really thing India, SA etc. are in a better position because they are winning in their own backyard?? What is India gaining by playing on dead tracks, beating WI and SL. Sure..they can gain confidence, but ODI cricket is about what happens on THAT day! I actually feel better when I am not expecting anything from the Pak team before a WC, because then there is no pressure. If they get to the Quaters..great...better then expected!!

We handed over an young team to Inzi and Bob to make them ready for 2007 WC.What happened during last three years.
1. Inzi acted as Amir-ul_Momineen by having two-third majority support from a specific georaphic region.
2. Players were as usual selected on basis of geography, quota, specific language like other departments in our country so result is obvious
3. Inzi and Co has fullfilled the dream of MMA by establishing a team who does not have enough courage to leave their position for other suitable player like their counterparts at national assembly.
4. These so-called heroes have no shame like our leader to leave your seat for others if you are not DELIVERING.
5. Ramiz Raja is another agent of this team who is on pay roll to praise this team. Now he is doing a program on Geo TV.
6. Razaq, Rana, Akmal, Hafeez, Farhat, Malik, and Nazir VS Asif Iqbal, Miandad, Mushtaq, Saeed Anwer,Tauseef ahmed...can you comapare the contribution they did
7. There are bunch of people who are recieving WELFARE money from PCB without doing any real contribution
8. How much moeny our national wants to earn without doing any job. This money is HARAM beacuse you are not doing your job
9. If our players are true beleivers of Islam then remeber those wars which has fought by our prophet[PBUH] without any foriegn coach.
10. Inzi think about all the money which has gone into the pocket of Woolmer and Co, all the money has been spent to have harmony...Last time I check this is a TEAM and we need someone from England to teach us Harmony. Inzi Islam teaches us harmony remember the teaching of our religion.
11. Auditing, performance, professionalism, merit,honesty, uprightness, quality, Appraisal - Inzi take a course on these words
12. Learning from past decisions is an important part of the process but formidable obstacles get in the way. Ego defenses, such as our tendency to rationalize bad outcomes, make feedback incomplete and inaccurate.
Finally
A team player . . .
- Visualizes what can be.
- Understands the big picture.
- Realizes that his freedom to do his own has ended.
- Knows that his obligation and responsibility to the team come first.
- Has a commitment to goals.
- Trusts his teammates and puts value in the team.
- Respects his teammates' individual differences.
- Handles conflict successfully.
- Communicates openly and freely with his teammates and coaches.

salam
the only thing im going to say u never know with pakistanis.on their days they will do some impossiablethings but on few days they will miss unmissable things.
all pakistan team need is little fire lets hope at the start of the wc some incident make inzi angry(like loosing in this fashion is not enough)or mushraf call him give him order u better win wc

is it ok to loose. i guess yes as long as we were fighting,tring doing the best to win.With Pakistan this is somthing we rarely see.sometimes i wish we had a choice in watching sports but all pakistan has is cricket.Is there any other sports pakistanis are good at.

Training Camp-Getting Ready to Succeed
--------------------------------------
- Create Visions, Not Dreams
- Put Everybody in a Position to Succeed
- Create Inconvenience
- Delegate Leadership
- Make the Will Stronger than the Skill
- Make the Grass Your Blackboard
- Understand that Life Is Not a Dress Rehearsal

Led by Example.
Our captain is completely out of form.
do not complain with the team.

From last one year Inzamam scored one or two innings out of his 20 or more innings.
He scored mostly well on the home ground.
He is old and unfit for the cricket.

His world cup batting average is 23 less than Imran Khan & Kapil Dev, please remeber Imran Khan & Kapil Dev were not considered as a specialist batsman.

http://www.howstat.com/cricket/Statistics/WorldCup/BattingMostRuns.asp?Stat=500

If we wanna win world cup,
We should rid off Inzi b4 the world cup.

Nadeem
London, UK

Good job coaches BOB WOOLMER & MUSTAQ AHMAD.

In south africa, our fast bowlers were trained by leg spinner Mustaq Ahmad. If this was not true, what he was doing there? Collecting $$$$ (Money).

Do not forget to share with your buddy (Inzi), he is the one who brought you coach, poor legend fast bowler Waqar Younis.

Raja,
Punjab

Awwww another Paki loss again. Could be just that they are having a bad week. Every team goes through it and bounce back ... eventually.

Anywayzz I'm so excited to see them play the West Indies in the Opening Match of the World Cup in a few weeks Insha Allah.

Good luck to ma Windies!

-Peace!

ok so this is my 4th post in as many days and after the dissappointment of last game when we were skittled out for 103 add we lost again..However, lets look at where we made our mistakes. First and foremost..it was a good idea to play Mohammad Hafeez in today's match even though he didn't click. At least we didn't open with kamran akmal but sending the guy in at number 4 did not make the world of sense to me..I mean he should have batted down the order and if anyone was to come at number 4 other than inzamam it should have been shoaib malik. I CANNOT REITERATE THIS ENOUGH>> SHOAIB MALIK IS BEING WASTED DOWN THE ORDER!!!!!!!!!!!!EITHER HE should be opening the innings with imran nazir or batting at number 3...he is one person you can rely on to do well in these positions. so we lost yet again to south africa. however, we have never won in south africa so why is everyone so surprised? whats all the commotion about? pak fought valiently in the test series and pushed the south africans against the wall with a depleted bowling attack, and no doubt some of the batsmen/bowlers played tired looking shots. however asif as usual bowled his heart out along with the likes of rao ifthikhar. rana naveed was once again disappointing. Why he has been picked for the World Cup when he is going for no less than 9 runs an over is quite mind boggling. With his current form, mohammad sami or azhar mehmood would have been a far better choice no doubt. Yet all is not lost. There is news taht Umar Gul will be fit and with him and Mohamamd Asif as the new ball pair, it will no doubt send a shiver down the opponents spine. Having shoaib akhtar alongside thse two is the ideal situation; however, some reason or another I believe that this will not happen, we might be lucky to see two of em together; but i doubt all three will play together (unless Allah al Mighty really showers his blessings on da Paki team)..so pakistan lost...yet they have 3 weeks to regroup. we have seen in recent times that after taking a drubbing paki team has come back hard and won convincingly. After england and icc champions trophy they came back to give the Windies a crushing blow...it is during these times of turmoil that you can expect the Paki team to bounce back hard. Maybe it is a blessing in disguice that everythign is not well with Pakistan prior to the world cup...maybe it is the extra motivation they need to hit back hard...severl things need to be worked out in the next few weeks tho...ie Rana naveeds bowling; kamran akmals batting and keeping form; successful drug tests; and return of the fitness for our current bowlers. Despite the hard luck of South Africa, there remains no doubt in my mind that the Paki team will bounce back hard in the World Cup and we can have a few surprises in store. Inshallah Pak will put up a good show at the world cup...never understimate the paki power......

sincerely,
your die hard paki cricket fan...

I am still watching the highlights, so will only comment on Pakistani batting which I have seen.

First let me congratulate SA for their deserved win, they totally outclassed Pakistan in last 2 games. Secondly, let me say shame on the umpires - after a replay it clearly shows that Hafeez and Rana were not outs, they did not flick those balls - especially Rana. So bad bad umpiring.

Rest, bad piece of batting from Pakistan. They were in such a hurry to play their shots as if they were going to miss their flight back home.

Their batting reminds me of this famous "50-50" joke (I believed made on Zaheer Abbass) in which he was smoking a cigarette before his turn. When his turn comes, he hands over his cigarette his fellow team mate asking him to keep it burning till he returns. He goes out to bat and comes out in the same over. I am sure most of you have seen this classic timeless joke. It was true then and its true now on (although more and more true now) of Pakistan batting.

Seriously they need to ask this question: Did Australia now and WI in 80s got to be no 1 with this kind of attitude and performance? I believe the answer to this question will explain why we performed the way we did today...

Rest later after watching the SA batting

Here is the solution to the proble. Inzy should have been dropped from the one day cricket team. He is no captain at all. His performance was zero and then he can go on blaming batsman on GEO or ARY. The only guy who stayed on the wicket for a while was Shoaib Malik and he is sent as #7??? He should be sent as one down. Kamran Akmal is not in the form to open should have gone as #6 or #7. Instead of Rana Naveed they should have taken Yasir Arafat( He was the only guy who made 40 some runs in champions trophy match against SA). Rana should be dropped for good. These all decisions require leadership and thats what is also missing from inzy. He is done what he could and now its time to take a hike. He should be the first one to be dropped from the World cup team. MOST IMPORTANT GUYS PLEASE STOP TRYING TO HIT THE LAST BALL OF THE OVER WHICH IS ALSO A WIDE BALL. Peace:)

Please lets not waste time on PAK ..we all have better things to do..

Mohammad Mahzer : I dont think English itself is a problem. It is simply a matter of professionalism and mental strength - both of which are seriously lacking in this group of players. The PCB needs to understand that the days where one-man shows would bring team wins are now GONE. Cricket has become much more professional, technology is all over the place, and if you`re mentally or technically weak - there is nowhere for you to hide in international cricket. For instance, Graeme Smith KNEW that Rana Naveed and Abdul Razzaq were confidence bowlers and if he took the attack to them - they would never recover and thats exactly what happened. In the test series, they knew that it doesent matter if they dont score of Kaneria - they just have to block him as much as they can and he`ll get frustrated, start experimenting, and then they can take him for runs..and thats what they did. The point is, Bob Woolmer can make plans and what not for these fools...but if they dont execute the plans...it doesent matter if you`re Bob Woolmer or Imran Khan - the coach cannot go out and play for these spoilt brats. As Pakistanis, we should understand why our team is so poor and not just blame the coach because he`s white. Thats just third-rate mentality on the part of some uneducated Pakistanis, to be honest.

Finally the SA tour is finished and one thing that has changed after series is that Pakistan atlast have become "PREDICTABLE", Wondering How????? well now anybody can predict that Pakistan is going to loose a game. It was a bit too disappointing than everyone thought especially in ODIs. What basically were the expectations of all the fans that despite a competitive Test series where even though Pakistan had chances to win the series more than once, it was indeed a much sad end to One day series. I think there was a reason to believe that in first ODI our bowling got thrashed all over and SA fall just mere 8 runs short of 400 because most of our bowlers were injured. But what about the final two ODIs, do Inzy have an answer to that???? It was the best lot of Pakistani Batsmen. I think we as the fans of Pakistani cricket wouldnt criticize the defeat always but if the defeat is so shameful and there was no contest between the two than i think we have got every right to be mad.

The administration of Pakistan cricket has to be blamed for this. They have failed miserably. However it has always been this way. We need an inspirational leader like Imran Khan. He led a bunch of schoolboys to a world cup win. We need to be more aggressive not only when it comes to playing cricket but also when it comes to getting rid of players who don't perform or think they are bigger than the team. Imran would bring his troops to bursting point when he hurled abuse and profanities at their family and at them in the dressing room, I ve heard some of them would be so frighted that literally would be peeing in their pants. Unfortunately this is the way our people have to be handled in all aspects of life to push them to perform it seems.
I totally agree that the team needs to wear their hearts on their sleeve. It seems as though they don't realize that the only reason they are stars is because of the Pakistanis all around the world which support them every time, but when you show such an obvious lack of fight and interest towards the game, you will be turned upon and rightly so.

haha I would have been more worried if Pakistanis had thrashed South Africans in this series cuz then they would have taken everything easy and screwed the worldcup. Now with the West Indian wickets (flat ones like the subcontinent) and fear of losing their place in the team/house back in pakistan makes them a dangerous side. However, Inzi is no Imran, so world cup is out of the question but my guess is they will at least reach the semis.
England or West Indies might win the finals.

PS: FOR GOD'S SAKE KICK RANA OUT! I don't care how good he has been over the past two years. When you have a goal in mind, you should compromise on anything but the goal. Get the current best 11 out there in the middle damn it.
Whats up with the injuries though. I guess the nido generation is yet to come.

As an Indian I watched al the PAK-SA encounters, thinking that PAK would do better in SA than India specially in ODI.But I was totally wrong. The last 2 ODI defeats specially was soul shattering.
There are few thing missing from Pakistan side
1. Absence of Salman butt, he was very good opener and fighter (I don't why is not in WC squad)
2. Energy of Afridi missing in last 2 ODI. He can be a opening option.
3. Why so many batting order changes. It brings so much instability and lack of confidence in player. ?. I think Pakistan also is stil experimenting like India.
4. Lack of strike bowlers in shoib, gul etc.
Once they are in squad,we shall see good contest in WC.
5. Inzy also needs get back in form and fitness.
Hoping for good exciting Ind-PAK encounter in WC.

Pakistan has always been an inconsistent team... everyone thought them down and out after that first match, and how did they come back??? You guys are way too judgemental, you mark my words, they're gonna reach at least the semi-finals.

Most of the people who give comments on this blog have not cricketing sense at all.We have to understand that in that series our bowling was incomplete without Shaoaib Akhtar and Umar Gul.Please Mr. Kamran Abbasi tell me what would South Africa be without Pollock and Ntini.If we see performance of Pakistan after 2003 World Cup ,Pakistan have beaten every test playing nation except Australia in tets series.Pakistan was even not as consistent as have been in last 2 years even when Wasim and Waqar were playing.We have to understand that we lost test series aganist SA due to absence of main bowlers.If we had complete bowling attack then we would have beaten SA 3-0. And even in one Dayers we could have performed much better.Rana was man of the series in previous one day series against WI.I hope that this was just a bad series for him and he will come more stronger in world cup.Plz Kamran read my comments and think on it.Pakistan have every chance of winning the worldcup.We will have to play 6 matches in super eights.Pakistan will have to perform well in 2 or 3 consecutive matches then everything will be allright.And on captaincy of Inzi, he had best record as captain for Paksitan after Imran Khan.So we cannot just write off Pakistan for worldcup.And remember India lost 4-0 to SA even with their great batsmen ang spinners.Plz every reader read my comments and pray for Pakistan for the worldcup and do not disherten other people by writing negative comments about Pakistan cricket team.

I am an Indian team supporter but I am a hard core cricket fan. I've been following Pak tour to SA and was comparing it with India's recent tour to SA. Just as Pak were outbatted, outfielded and outbowled in this tour...so were India. Problem with sub-continent team is that they don't prepare more lively pitches in homeland and have to suffer when they travel to SA or Aus or even NZ. That being said..both India and Pak have issues with their teams. I only see three players in Pak team who are capable of winning this world cup and they are Inzi, Younis Khan and ofcourse...my favourite...Yosuf Yohana....All best!!!

Yes the Pakistan team needs inspiration but where will it come from. It is the Captains job who has to "lead from the front" but Inzamam belives in "losing from the back". He prefers to watch out the new pall and the movement at number six, having the experience of three previous tours of South Africa, whereas he sends the young and incapable bunnies to throw their worthless wickets playing some poor shots. Their team selection and strategies defy logic and is a cause for frustration and anger amongst many. What has Rana Naveed done to be in the squad? What has Yasir Hameed done to be dropped? and if there is any merit for selection then no player except Younis, Yousaf and Asif has done enogh to stay in the team.
The only thing in pakistan's favor is that they can only play better than the have played already and not worse.

The psyche of the Pakistani supporter is as predictable as the performance of the Pakistani team is unpredictable.
Understandably the loss is disappointing but we need to think about it with an objective mind. Pakistan has managed to put up a decent fight of sorts in the test matches with just Asif and maybe Kaneria too. We did not have batting debacles in the tests that we are used to seeing from previous Pakistani teams on tour to Australia or South Africa, that on the back of a very hectic season too.
Add to the hectic schedule, PCB histrionics and the string of controversies and injuries that this team has mustered.
DIL PER MAT LE YAAR!!!
I think we all agree with 90% of the selected team for the world cup and barring one or two players, all have shown their abilities at some stage of their careers i.e. they are not useless or lack ability.
Hopefully this one month breather will be what the Dr. ordered for the team. Add to that the much friendlier pitches of the West Indies and the return of Umar and Shoaib inshaAllah and we have a tournament on our hands.
IMO the following line up will be most effective for Pakistan of the selected lot.
Imran Nazir, Shoaib Malik, Younis Khan, Muhammad Yousaf, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal, Abdur Razzaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Muhammad Asif
When Pakistan won the World Cup in 1992 from the verge of being knocked out (1 win in first five matches), it was said that the team won due to the prayers of the nation (it was Ramadan then and I don’t remembering ever praying as hard for anything in my life myself) so I would suggest that we lift our hands in prayer and wish this team well. It is after all the Pakistan cricket team, it is our team!!!! GO PAKISTAN!!!!!

Well now the time has come where Pakistan cricket needs some serious tactical changes.Indeed no one would have blamed them, but the way how they have approched their cricket especially in SA is pathetic.
They are capable of performing better then what they did.If we keenly analyze third ODI, i guess at centurion, in which they demostated what wonders they can do even after losing one much by very large margin.It epitomizes the fact that they are mentally very tough and can never be taken for granted,but consistency is the problem.
We keep on saying much about their unpredictable nature but very less is being done to erase that image.One cannot survive in todays cricket only by being unpredictable.It is high time for Pakistan cricket authorities to initiate some checks and balances.Having said that i beleive only some fine tunning needs to be done while keeping the basic strcture as it is.

To say disapointed is not the right word, I am off mood from yesterday. Have fought my Wife 3 times, have not gone to my workplace. I winder why i am so heart broken. In my 35 Years of Watching Cricket, i should have left watching it by now.

I think that the same set of players, on a different day, their day, can make mincemeat of any team, including australia.

As an Indian, I am fascinated by the Pakistan cricket team. The Indian team will plod along - sometimes good, sometimes bad, but never awesome and never absolutely pathetic. With the Pakistan team, its never so. They can never be mediocre. Like the proverbial lil girl, they can be very very good, or downright horrid. One never knows which Pakistan team will show up, on any given day. But, given the law of averages, since they have been so bad in Pakistan, I'll wager that they will do a complete turnaround and win the world cup next month.

I'm a South African and patriotically support the boys in green and gold. I think the Pakistanis should not be too hard on themselves; it is very difficult to win a one series, or any series in South Africa. On a more touching note: Hassan (above) states that Mushtaq Ahmed was brought to ensure tableeghis control the team. I am a devout Muslim although in South Africa, and let me tell you, that for some people, having imaan might just ne better than having the world cup in a few months time.

i think the reason for this debacle is not solely on the players. i have seen ordinary people turn into great teams becasue: they were made to practice and drill, and no one who missed the practices was spared. unless the management practices accountability there is no hope. currently it does not look like they are just lethargic, they also look out of practice. unless they practice like the others and show commitment, and unless they are made to practice, tehy wont be able to compete. lack of accountability and bad management also shows in the team selection. which team in the world would send a bowler like shoaib akhtar back in such a hurry which looks like an insult. which team would fire their performing coach like waqar younis one month before world cup? the same thing happened in 1999 world cup, when there was miandad coach, everyone was performing fine, he was fired and in came richard pybus. at that time i felt the previous momentum took us to the finals, but that was only so far we could go without proper coaching and management. this time without proper coaching, management, practices etc, and unfit players, i dont think we can go to the super sixes even.

Mr. Abbasi is simply overreacting and getting too emotional. It's not something new - Pakistan team have alway been unpredictable. To link the outcome of a cricket series to the pride of 160+ million people is embarrassing to the country.

Typical gutless performance by a bunch of over-rated maulvis who think God will make their incompetent and cowardly butts win games. Instead of asking God to help them win cricket games, they need to apologize to their fans and to God himself for not working hard enough to win games, like professionals do. These losers are paid very well, looked after by the Cricket board, free tickets are given to their wives and kids so they can all go sight-seeing in South Africa, and in return they do not even perform as a national team. I would suggest that a) People like Razzaq,Rana Navid,Akmal,Hafeez,Nazir,Sami etc be dropped and their contracts revoked immediately. Younger players should be brought into the team to replace these losers, and they must be made mentally tough to succeed at international level. Furthermore, the PCB needs to enforce two rules - nobody gets more than a medium salary when the team loses a game, ie the board will get more money than the players, if the team wins, the players get the full bonus - that way these greedy fools will work even harder to win so they can go home with some money, and secondly - all wives and kids should be banned from any overseas tour. The PCB is not running a hotel - these fools are paid well to play for Pakistan...no tour lasts more than a month and a half...if they miss their wives so much - they can stop playing cricket and stay home with them. We need to be tough with these overpaid, mentally weak losers, and stop thinking they are special or that they are "heroes". They`re just a bunch of losers and need to be treated accordingly.

I just cant believe how stupid a captain can be??//
totally sense less or i should say brain less captaincy. And believe me i was telling my father while watching the match what he will do. After posting a total of 152 how would have he beleived that SA will go past 40 over mark chasing it and hence opting for power play2?
what sense does it makes to send kamran akmal at 4?
how can selectors left out salman butt, specially after scoring so heavily at the domestic level and scoring 166 in a recently concluded final?
Every thing is just unbelievable.

The thing is that they have no fear of being dropped ... no matter how you play or even don't play at all you still manage to get in the team and than have the nerve to laugh after getting humiliated ... its a game they say but they all are professional players no other means of livelihood so they can not call it a game its their profession and one has to be on top of things!

The way Pakistanies are playing their cricket it looks like that they just resigned the fact that they cannot beat the teams like Australia and South Afirca. All of that is to be blamed to the captain and the coach. Both of them are the most defensive i have ever seen

By the way, the team's equipment was not lost/stolen at the airport - it turns out that the team left it at the hotel.

Says a lot about the team and its management.

Firstly, let me tell you, if your a hard core fan, you have to be supportive of the team, let it be a bad or a good result. I am sure all the England supports felt the same way, but then England came back. I think we have to be more positive for the world cup, our team needs us and this is not going to help them, Just think if one or even all the Pakistani players were reading this...it would just drown them, I love my country and I love my team..no matter what. All I can say is that I am going to pray for them and I am pretty sure things will turn around. May God Bless Pakistan and oh yeah..OUR PLAYERS TOO!!...GOT GET EM PAKISTAN!!!!

Kamran Bhai sadly the pride to play for country has gone completely missing. One sole reason is that Pakistan has stopped producing new players. In the last few years the only name that springs to mind is Mohammed Asif. Apart from our top of the line players there are a few names which keep making recurring appearances now and again. The likes of Farhat, Hafeez, yasir hameed, imran nazir are some of these names. They come to play at the international level with good domestic form and fail. They are then replaced with the second guy in line. I have not seen any new names for a long time now. The question which is to be asked is that In the whole domestic scene of Pakistan Are there no players who can be included in the International Eleven?. What are the number of Debuts that we have seen in the last few years?.Dont even get me started on the bowling. Pakistan use to be a bowling side which can put up a fight with any total on the board, now even a score of 350 seems chaseable.

Pakistan has some brilliant individual players (read Youhana, Inzi, Afridi, Asif etc..) but as a team they don't click coz Inzi is not a natural captian.
In a game of cricket, u need your captain to assess the game continously and make the required changes..

In my opinion, Youhana would be a better captain than Inzi..

Slightly off topic but may be you can raise this issue in another article - the issue of Shoaib Malik. Well he bats at no. 6 so usually he would come in when the score is 250+ for 4 down...or he may not come in at all to as that score gives the likesof Afridi and Razzak a great launch pad...so he's not really required when Pakistan's batting has done rarely well...The other scenario, which seems to be more often these days - he would come in at 60-4 or 70-5 to try and salvage some pride and take the score to respectable levels...but his 40 or 50 that he scores in those situations goes to waste cause it hardly takes Pak to victory - it just ensures we bat the full quota of overs or somewhere close to that...so my question is - why is he being wasted? He used to be our best #3 sometime back and he can't bat there cause that's Younis Khan's position...well Bob and Inzi need to think abt it...and it breaks my heart that Yasir Hameed has not been considered for the opening position...i read somewhere he has 4 scores in the range of 40 and 75 in his last 4 ODI innings spread over 2 years...what are the selectors doing? what is the captain doing? what is the coach doing?

I am really disappointed on the way Pakistanies are behaving in the field. They are said to be one of the best teams on paper having big names but really no one is having enough mental toughness and courage to keep Pakistan's name up. Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Malik, Youns Khan dont bother to justify their inclusion in the team and Kamran Akmal, Rana Naveed are surely having strong backing of Inzi though they dont want to to or more precisely are not able to perform. In my opionion, Inzi have never been a good captin. However, he was winning because of his good wishes with the Pakistan. What happened now is he became a politician, give favours to specific people, tried to kick out Shoiab Akhtar, succeeded in kicking out the Waqar Younis and brought his friend Mustaq Muhammad (who is really doing nothing except earning for himself). I rally love Pakistan and Pakistan Cricket but hath those who are playing with the feelings of Pakistanies and Inzi is on the top of it..... He should ask himself so many things and try to correct himself. That will be the only solution for all problems......... May Allah force him to do the things which should be done by a Captin.

well...people as I can see all of us are die hard fans of this Pakistan Cricket team..Yesterday i was hoping that Pakistan will turn the tables around but it didnt happen.. to be honest of all the injuries and problems Pakistan team was felt like thinking to get it over with...may be they are waiting for the World Cup...well we all are and lets pray that these same players who have the capability of doing anything in the world of cricket can make us all proud...

As long as Army rules Pakistan we will continue to be humiliated world over.Over and over again.In every department.A nation which accepts incompetent idiots like Gen Tauqir Zia and friends of the big General(Shaharyar Khan and Dr |Nasim Ashraf)is doomed.I wish I was born in a different country.

Look our team is going through a rough patch here and we should support them instead of criticizing them.We didn't have Afridi,Shoaib nor Umar Gul.And i assure you once they come back to the team they will ramp their to the World up finals.Inshallah!!But yes I was also hurt by their performances but we can hope for the best.Good Luck guys!!!!!!

Emeberassing.....o GOD where our team is heading...i was a gr8 fan of PAK cricket before this series....n now i feel ashme of PAK team....i thnk if KENYA, BANGLADESh or some other team from lower reanking would have been there they can sure go beyong 175...but with the legends on paper i would say not on the field like inzi youni yousaf v even could,nt cross 150 figure....
i would just say dat MAG GOD belss our team and team managment so dat there would b rite peole on rite places.....

I would like to see appologies from all those big headed pakistani fans that said things like "Yousuf will play these pathetic South African bowlers with his eyes closed" before the start of the ODI series. And how dare you make comments about the South African teams harsh sledging and racist remarks! This was clearly all of Pakistanis fans just looking for something to moan about, knowing very well that they weere about to have a serious beating handed to them! If the Pakistani team had one tenth the commitment of any of the South African players they might actually look like a competitive international outfit. I suggest that next time you play South Africa you keep your arrogant mouths shut untill you actually win something!

What KA says, stikes a familiar cord in my heart. Shame or no shame, we must rise from shambles just like the Britons have done recently.

Losing in such a consistant and imbecile fashion has resulted in decline of expectations by the people of Pakistan for our teams chances of having a go at the championship trophy.

Which is not such a bad thing as without any expectations WE WILL NEVER BE DISAPPOINTED!!

I am too very disappointed in Pakistan's performance but I think the thing that really hurt Pakistan were the injuries such as Shoaib Akhtar who once destroyed SA's top order in a test series. But injuries or not, there is no excuse for how they lost match by match without putting up even a little bit of fight.It would be very disappointing to see Pakistan lose the World Cup like they did in 2003.

shameless performance from pakistan team in south africa and including mohammed hafiz in the world cup team ahead of azhar mahmood imran farhat yasir hamid . it is very disspointing for me who love to watch each and every game of pakistan cricket.

I still think that this pakistan team has great depth in bowling once Asif is joined by Shoaib and Umer Gul. Batting may be a little suspect except for Yousuf and Younis and not so consistent ageing Inzy

They and to a lesser extent India could be the surprise pack in the world cup

It was a disgusting performance in the last two games. One team has to lose but at least show some character.
I just want to know what is Razak,Rana and Haffez doing in this side when u have players like Slaman Bhat,Yasir Hameed and Asim Kamal, who are technically more correct and mentally tougher.
Let us make it a point..We need more specialists than these cuts and pieces players like rana , razak, hafeez etc.. Apart from M Yousf, Inzy(seems to be aging now),Youns, Asif and Malik nobody there seems to be fit for international cricket.
Hope Shoib and Gul come back..I still have high hops for a better show in world cup

Hello Mr Kamran Abbasi, Please do not worry. Look at India. They were blasted left right and center in SA. I should say that Pakistan fared better than India in SA. And now, look how India is playing. I am an Indian and I am looking forward to only once thing: decimating the australians pride, and so I hope one of us would be able to do this in the coming edition of the world cup.

Though I totally agree with Kamran. I wouldn't say that I am embarrassed. Ok, I am Indian, but it has happened with India way too often that they are trounced in every departement of the game.
Pakistan's team is one the couple of others who have a never-say-die approach. I sincerely admire and respect that approach of their. They have been beaten in this series, no doubt about that. But don't forget the main bowlers are out of the contest. Afridi, the pathan is out.
I was disappointed with the approach of the openers and also with younis. But having said that I truely believe that Pakistan will surely come back hard in the WC. I love to see Asif & Shoaib bowl in tandem. Afridei the real blaster beat the life out of the bowl, Younus, Younis & Inzi play their wonderful shots.
Don't be ashamed, its the time to back 'em up. They have it in them. I agree with Zuhair, its just a matter of psyche together and go ahead!!!
Wish you all a wonderful cricket season ahead!!!
Be Happy & Spread ONLY Happiness!!!:)

I think all I can say is that Inzamam has to go as captain. Consider this..when Graeme Smith was appointed captain, he was the brash, loudmouthed, and downright stupid in terms what he had to say....I remember his team struggling in Sri Lanka, but he continued to scream shout obscenities (at sri lanka, at his team, at the coach, at the pitch, and the stray dog who passed by as well)...BUT at least he had heart....his team now believes in a lot of the bravado frothing that he came out with...they are aggressive when on top, they are petulant when they lose...that’s important in any competitive situation..defeat should hurt, victory should be used to goad the opposition (that’s right defeat should hurt, if I cant see the tears then it didn’t hurt)..under inzi this team is stoic in both defeat and victory..and its infectious, guys like razzaq, even shoaib malik...they have such a vacant look in their eyes. I am sorry, Inzi has to go as captain...I just cannot reconcile to a passionless team.

O btw did you guys notice that pakistan has only four specialist in world cup squad i.e. Nazir, Younis Khan, Inzi, Yousuf...I assume thats because we've all these great all-rounder’s in the team....hmmm...I wonder how many batsmen is Australia carrying?

Stuart Clark (economical, threatening, wicket taker) vs. Tait (pacy, erratic, expensive, can run through sides)..we'll have the tait please, we already have the McGrath
Umar Gul vs.Sami – well we’ll take the Gul, we could use an asif clone..
Everyone loves true pace….except this team.

One last word on Wasim Bari, he selected pakistan’s 2003 world cup team as well. Instead of scouring the grounds in pakistan looking for talent (particularly opening batsmen), this guys goes to south Africa to discuss with coach and captain and then when comes back, doesn’t have the balls to face the media. Everyone talks about Inzi and Bob (rightly), but what has Bari achieved? Which talent has he spotted?

Well i would like to say ..plz stop blaming the cricketers, it;s not their fault completely...i would like to point some fingers at the Pak board who sit cosily in their homes hiding away from the media...Our infrastructure is next to nothing, U-17, U-19 & U-21 teams are in shambles ,,the cricket they play is not competitive at all, the mental toughness is not their from the start..who is to blame for this Inzimam?? no i dont think so..And i want to ask who apointed these people , like Saleem Altaf & Mr Ashraf, our very own useless selectors,,there time is up like all the aged cricketers who would be leaving after the WC, and i suggest that we get a newly ELECTED board, who would understand that the paki people are not dumb anymore and they know what the hell is goin on...

I disagree..though Pakistan lost with a huge huge margins but I still disagree because of many reasons. We know the conditions in SA and WI are entirely different. You know and should remember the indian team results in SA (keep in mind India has the strongest batting line up in the world) but performance of Pakistan is much better than India in SA. Plus Pakistan are playing without their main fast bowler otherwise who can say the SA can do the same. even yesterday, If Kallis was given LBW (replay show he was completely out) then the story may be some different (margin may not be so high). We as pakistani have one very very bad thing we are very emotinal and this is the main obstacle in forming a strong team. We want win thats it other wise captain is worse, coach is worse, teeam is wors but if we win, our captain is excellent, team is fighter, coach is good. Aus losses two final and one ODI and i can say on ODI and one final they lose without fighting but they can because Aussies are not so emotional, We forget that India lossed much worstly, Aussie losses against England in Austraila without fighting, Pakistan really fight in Test matches, really fight in 2nd and 3rd game. I do agree upto some extent that we should learn the lesson with this defeat but please please now this squad is final so buck up them because now your criticism will down further their moral. Our captain (with these resources) are much better, team is good but they need only on click (England losses historically in Aus but now they have won CB series) our position in 92 was more worse(even wo bowled out at 74 runs against England) but we won. so please please stop crying everytime and back your team up.

Pakistani Team we are with you,, just fight without fearing of loss...

Regards
Najam

I am definitely embarrassed. I work in Dubai with a number of other expatriates with whom I discuss cricket regularly. One of my colleagues in office is a South African and he kept a tissue box on my desk this morning. The basics of this team are not right. We have just too many all rounders. Inzi's favourites are not delivering yet they are still being retained in the team, case in point being Rana. We need more specialist batsmen and bowlers in the team. It is the only way we can shed the inconsistency. Its sad that for almost two years Inzi and Bob kept things together and the team was performing well consistently and things have fallen apart so close to the world cup. I still feel the team will do well in the World Cup. We may make it to the semi final but we just dont have the right combination to go all the way.

The only way this Pakistan team can gather a bit of momentum for the WORLD CUP is, Change the captain immediately. Let YOUNIS KHAN lead the team and let Inzamam play as a batsman.

At present form and age, its better Inzamam announces his retirement by himself or else the selection committee has no other option than throw him out of the team. Look at Shane Warne's, McGrtah's, Cairns and Justin Langer's. Why our players dont do that until they are thrown out of the team. Somebody answer.

I agree with Kamran Abbasi to some extent. The problem is that sub-contitent players are used to flat pitches, not bouncy tracks like South Africa. Key bowlers are injured, but that is no exuse. The reserves needed to stand up and show what they are made of. The Banning of Shahid Afridi, didnt help matters, as he was beginning to regain his touch. Inzi batting at Number 6. The idea might seem patethic to us, but they must have seem some sort of benefit in sending him at Number 6. World Cup arrivng soon, I just hope we Show determination, fight, and courage!. Inshallah, we should go far in the world cup, provided bob, Inzi and the whole team managment give confidence to their Players and support, and the Players need to produce the goods!

Well , we can say a lot about this tour , but the prime fact reamins that , the top management of our tema seem to have no logic behind there descision contrary to a lay man who can even pinpoint there genuine strategy mistakes.Kamran Akmal has failed as an opener , so he gets demoted to number three slot , which is the backbone of a team.Howlong this will continue why nobody questions thwm for tis blunder.The management must be accounted for.

The way we went down in the 4th ODI, I was knew we had absolutely no hope left. I actually boycotTed watching the 5th ODI. I knew this team doesnt have what it takes to make a comeback. This is perhaps the most midiocre Pakistan cricket team ever since the one Wasim Bari led to England in 1978. A team which still has room for midiocrity like Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Shahid Nazir and devestatingly out-of-form players like Rana Naveed ... I mean, what the hell. England lose more than eight of their frontline players, get back-ups and actually go on to beat Australia thrice in week. I'm truely pissed at the way Pakistan has gone about playing its cricket. Not only spinless, but balless too.

As long as Inzi keeps all his underperforming boyfriends in his team and Bob keep on watching hardcores on his laptop..... don't expect anything. PERIOD

To avoid more embarrasement, my advise to Inzimam:

Please retire from ODI immediately and give PAK team a chance to win WC

The lack of spirit to fight in Pakistani team is probably because of our lethargic captain, apart from being lazy he also sucks in brains department.

The management has shown complete lack of understanding of the game cricket. They kept changing the openers every other match, kept experimenting with opening bowlers and continued to play the guys who has got absolutely zero skill.

We can but pray that Pakistan makes it to at least super eight in the coming WC.

Since when did Pakistan Cricket team have a proper support from their fans? LEtting the fans down wont make a difference because not all of them support the team like they should have... they keep on pointing out the mistakes whether we lose or win. Despite the fact that soo many changes have occured all the blame goes to one player... Inzy. Is it a law in pakistan cricket politics to blame everything on inzy and nothing on the selection or board? How come everything is being framed up against inzy itself? True some players are blamed but in the end the finger points at the captain. Embarassment cannot always be shown as an expression Mr.Kamran. You cannot always be so harsh on others' sense of guilt. It was more of a shock if you ask me...nothing else. Pakistan is a great team yet being mercilessly tortured in the PCB Politics. Naseem Ashraf is playing a good game since the day he got the chair. Nothing is going for pakistan and its all the politics to blame which has indirectly crushed Pakistani players to this level. If i were in your shoes i would not put the whole blame on one person but investigate the whole situation and then point fingers.

Brother Kamran i couldnt find better words then yours.100% agree wid wot u have said above.to put some more light into wots going on...i wud say 16 Million pplz prayer can only save pakistan and boost up there confidence.the way they were outclassed just before the megaevent wont take them anywhere.
FJ very precisely written mate i agree with ur points in reply to Farhan Arif...
where was the fighting spirit in last 2 odi's.all of you will agree that last 2 odi's were single sided matches.even kenya or bangladesh wud ve given hard time to SA...but the way our superstar team went reeling was totaly disgusting...

Now prayers can only save us ....

Last night Imran Khan had made few comments on Pakistan Performance. He mentioned the following points and was very very upset:
1.There is no strategy
2.The captain is not coming on No. 4
3.Kamran had come up on No. 4 whcih is really amazing, the team was in trouble and the most authenticated and talented batsmen are coming after them, which is showing that they are afraid of new ball.
5.Imran Nazir should not be included in World Cup squad, because of his inability of defence and shot selection.
6.The Pakistani Captain is too much defencive and not taking any responsibility and not fighting at all.
If you had watched the whole match, you can easily see that why Imran is so upset, because there is not a hint of fighting spirit in Pakistani team. I am wondering why few people are so optimistic about the team performance? Dont compare Pakistani team with India, at this point of time they are much better TEAM than ours.
With this kind of attitude, Pakistani Team will be standing right before Bangladesh,(only in terms of team standing, I am sure Bangladesh Team has more zeal than Pakistani Team).
How to improve? Get rid of red ribbon kind of attitude from PCB (Mr. Altaf has been reprtedly fighting and showing his power to each and every one nowadays). Get rid of favoritism, Yasir Hameed, Zulqarnain Haider and many others are victim of Mr. Captain's unjust and stupid kindness.Change the Coach, (may be it is hard to swallow but it is a fact that the contribution of coach has been pointed out by many greats), we have good names like Intikhab Alam, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waqar Yunis etc.
And last but not least change the Captain for the world cup, we need high spirited Captain, not a dull and down one.

We have seen so many experiments on the opening slots, why not try Younis and Yousuf as opener. Younis pretty much comes to the middle during the first over and Yousuf joins him in the first 5 overs. Why make opening such a big deal when we know that they have to face the new ball anyway. We can then have Inzi bat at #4, and use likes of Asim Kamal and Yasir Hameed in the middle who we can certainly trust more than Imran Farhat, Mohammad Hafeez, or Imran Nazir.

Posted by: Hassan at February 14, 2007 7:12 PM

In Contrast to Mr. Hasan following comments,
"Tableeghis want to control team, they think they can worship their way to win world cup."

I request everyone please do not involve Islam in Cricket as might be once Mr. Hasan will dye and will be in grave then Angels will come and ask him about Pakistan's performance in World Cup. This is the Habit of our people that once they starting winning, they said nothing but once start loosing, they start putting everything whatever they like. What about Muahnmmad Yousuf's record, he is the guy who converted to Islam and now see his performance.

ALWAYS KEEP IN YOUR MIND EVERYTHING BELONGS TO ALLAH AND YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING WITHOUT HIS APPROVAL. EVEN CAN'T SPEAK A SINGLE WORD FROM YOUR MOUTH!!! HOPE EVERYONE OF US WILL UNDERSTAND

Sorry, I don't understand all this angst. I'm a South African supporter who watched both a Test and One Day series which could have gone the other way. Pakistan were on top in PE, remember, and could easily have gone to the 4th ODI in Cape Town 2-1 up. No need for Pakistan to panic. They have some superb players, have found a bowler of genuine class in Asif, have injured players returning for th World Cup plus Afridi, who was harshly treated with a four match ban. Pakistan is a class act and with luck and some form could easily repeat their triumph in 1992.

Sorry Inzi. You've been a great cricketer. But in One Day Cricket you really cant hack it anymore. Just leave before you get kicked out. I blame the loss of this series primarily due to lack of leadership. Inzi now wants 11 players who eat, sleep, breathe the way he wants them too. Not 11 star performers.

i m not able to comment on this TEAM

Of all the above talks I came to one conclusion and that is said "when they blow hot they are top of the world and they blow cold they are top on the grain”.

I really don't get the logic behind Inzamam batting at number 6! It's a crime to make a bait out of technically poor batmen. Inzamam must lead by example and since the upper order is in a dilemma, he needs to bat at number 3 or 4. A lesson must be learnt from the great Imran Khan who successfully came at number 3 and 4 later in the World Cup 1992. Regarding the opening fiasco, we can never produce naturally gifted openers since the quality of pitches in the domestic circuit is awful, the technique and temperament are never put to a test. I think we should look forward towards developing our openers similar to what happened with Saeed Anwar.

Anyway, at this eleventh hour we as a nation can only pray and back our flag and hopefully they will not follow the pattern of WC 2003. Just show high spirit and boldly face all levels of competition. Best of luck!

sir though i am certainly no tableeghi i am a pakistani cricket supporter born and bred in south africa.what i saw at the matches which i attended was a team lacking insight and conviction.
i have tried to get in touch with the cricketing authorities but to no avail last nights massacre in my eyes was from alack of understanding of teh game we call cricket.Imraan Nazir a talent whom ihad vouched for on this very podium though a breath of fresh air disciplilne is required especially up front we had shown that in the durban odi.why play kamran at the top if he could be more effevtive at the later stages where the ball does much less.We lack the openning platform so dearly required in the modern game why as someonehas suggested play younis khan up the order since he invariably comesin with the ball being 1 over old.I am sorry for taking so much of space but to say I am disappointed is truly an understatment.Was-salaam

Absolutely agree with your comments Karman. But don't we need to point out the reasons. Here are some that I need to point out:
The captain:
Looking at Enzi in the field it seems that he is the 12th man. He is just there watching like a UN observer. When the chips are down the captain has to lead from the front (Enzi wants to leave from the back door). When Sami, rana naveed , razzaq are not bowling well, why doesn't Enzi walks up to them and tell them to concentrate. Is he too lazy to walk even.
Bowling couch:
Just one point. What is mushtaq doing in South Africa, did he need to shop in south Africa, I think YES, someone explain how can a spin bowler coach a team of fast bowlers and on top of that there weren't any specialized spinners playing in the team for the one day's. Please someone tell me.
Fielding:
Couple of months back we appointed johnty. for what??? fielding couch?? wow. I am sure the board had lots n lots n lots of free money because after that we cant even catch at all. Probably he left holes in the hands of our team. Thx Johnty.
Bowling:
I am sure rana naveed is someone's sweetheart because I fail to understand why the hell is he still playing and why the hell he is selected. Just to give you all an idea, The record match between south Africa and Australia, in which south Africa won there was this bowler in the Australian team who created the record for the highest runs conceded in a one day international, in that particular match. Does anyone knows his name, I don't. WHY BECAUSE HE NEVER PLAYED AGAIN,
Batting:
Mr. Bob hats off to you because you biggest achievement is that you failed to give us a good pair of openers. No one could do it but you. Excellent job.

In the end just a final word, with this performance I wish we can beat Zimbabwe in the first round, secondly please remember that these 11 are selected out of the total 7.5 million men in our country.

Somebody in the cricinfo commentary for one of the Pak-SA matches suggested opening with say Younis and Yousuf (since they virtually do that anyway once the openers are gone almost as soon as they come in). I think that's a good idea. We might not have enough time till the world cup to time-test this strategy but I think we have nothing to lose at the moment, and only drastic and daring changes in strategy like these can rescue pakistan.

In typical Pakistani fashion we move from euphoric highs to absymal lows in the flash of an eye. And so do the fans. Yes, I am embarrassed at the margins of our defeats, but have I given up hope for the World Cup? Absolutely not. I will admit that I am not optimistic, but my lack of optimism has nothing to do with the defeats in SA rather it has everything to do with the mindset of this team, and the players chosen.

Simply put, if I told you today that Pakistan have not made the semi finals, how many players would be at risk of completely being shelved aside from our future ODI lineup. I can count at least 8. Inzi, Rana, Razzak, Hafeez, Akmal, Afridi, Akhtar, Imran Nazir. So more than half the team is going to be playing with that mentality. Compare that to 92 and 99, our most successful World CUp campaigns. In 92 it was only Imran and Miandad at risk and we had so many rising stars like Aamer Sohail, Inzi, Mushy, Akram, Aaqib who knew that regardless of how the performance of the team goes they have a future with the team. Similarly in 99, Razzak, Yousuf (Youhana at that time), Saqlain, Shoaib Akhtar, all these guys were on the ascent. In this team you could conciebably name only 2 such players Asif and Gul.

If we fail, this is the reason we will fail, because these guys will be playing out of fear of their careers not out of confidence in their talent. And that is the fault 100% of the administrators and the selectors. The writing on the wall for Inzi as a ODI player, for Rana as an ODI bowler, for Razzak as an ODI allrounder has been on the wall for at least 1 year if not more. We simply did not develop enough replacement talent when we should have.

i totally agree with david furrows.
besides being passionate about cricket, we also tend to indulge in a fair degree of histronics/ drama!
lets not discount the fact that pakistan (quite bravely) did not cower from facing its toughest challenge (beating south africa in SA) before the most important tournament in cricket. pakistan has one the world cup but is yet to beat SA in SA -- a feat, btw, achieved by very few countries!
throw in the fact that over 66% of our prime bowlers have been missing and yet for much of the tour (barring the last 2 ODI) the team has been able to put up a fight.
the only real issue, in my opinion, is the batting order. the best batsmen have to be upfront and the big strikers held in reserve until the slog overs.

pakistan will make it people (inshallah!)! and i rather be a major underdog than a major top dog, going into battle!

I dont know when will we stop taking sports so seriously. Embarrassed for what? Let me clear, I am a big follower of the game. but I dont understand why we cant we take a game just as a game, a sports just as sports. Come on guys, there are plenty more big issues we face in this life. Come on Kamran, nothing to worry about its just a game :)
Btw what I dont understand is when everyone agrees Shoaib Malik at no.7 is pure waste(under-utilized at that position), we cant inzimam and bob woolmer think the same. They surely know the game better than us but why do they make such silly mistakes.
Again I would request kamran please take game as a game and dont take it to heart :)
Enjoy everyone !!

Altough i was worried about the squad that was selected, i'm now more concerned about the lack of spirit shown by pakistan, they just went through the motions without showing and fight or character, saying anything more would already be a repition of the above articles and 58 other comments above.
I dont understand where Pakistan started going wrong, admitedly last year wasnt the best one but it certainly hadn't left the fans with such lack of hope. This one day seires has been a real eye opener, lack of commitment that pakistan showed an also the lack of bench stregnth, this is something Wasim Bari has to answer, he's been a tried and tested selecter and the administration does not seems to learn the lesson, it's a different thing being a great cricketer and a completely different thing and having an eye for talent is something different.
Anyways, as a fan i can only hope that Pakistan lives up to it's reputation of being unpredictable and surprise as all at the world cup, after all hope is all we got.

Considering the fact that Pak lost without a fight, Credit should be given to SA bowlers. Given that Pak played really bad, we just cant take credit from SA. Guys dont forget the champion Shoaib is not there. Afridi & Akmal are failing. Afridi is the match winner, but he is got getting fair chances, a 27 yr old guy already played 180 odd ODIs, he can bowl, bat, field at any position. He has been moved up down in batting order. This is not fair with a guy like Afridi, Bob should tell him his role in the team.

Pakistan performance in the series has actually let their fans down.I am regretting now for watching every ball of the series and hoping miracles from the team who are not willing to fight.I am tired of making excuses for my cricket team to my friends and family who are fadup of my cricket fever(today pitch is not playing well,umpiring is not good,....may be next time they win us a game).I think Inzi should resign from captaincy after team's disastrous performance in South Africa.One can not win the world cup by playing his favourites in the team.What Inzi and Bob has done to prepare for world cup?New players are not given chances to play at International Level.They are sticking with same players for a past few years.Whenever young bloods were inducted in the team,we got the players like fabulous Mohammad Asif and talented Abdur Rehman.Who is to blame for this pitiful downfall of the team just before the world cup?Inzi,Bob or PCB?

I find myself staying up late in the night to watch the game. But all I get for those "red-eyes" is some cheap Pakistan wickets, some horrible bowling and sometimes absolutely embarrassing fielding displays. I am a part of a generation that grew up watching Wasim and Waqar steaming into bowl; I clearly remember those inswinging yorkers, those cart-wheeling wickets and those blood thirsty glares from our then pace battery. Good batting and brilliant fielding as I know it, was never vintage Pakistan. To me it was the bowling, it was those overs at the death that make me nostalgic about the good old times. Today, when I see our bowlers running into bowl I don't find myself sensing a wicket, I don't feel confident about a victory, and most of all I don't feel excited. All said and done, I am still a 'Proud Pakistani', I still believe that we are unpredictable, dangerous and talented (do we always show that talent, thats debatable!). I know its hard to lend support to a team that has been recently outclassed. But lets just stick in there, at least till the World Cup. Lets just support what we have! This team might not be half as good as it used to be, however, its still Team Pakistan, its still our CRICKET TEAM, its still one of our greatest assets. Lets just be proud of it and pray that we bring back the GOLD! PAKISTAN ZINDABAD!

Wow so much negativity....people calm down...i know it is sad to lose without putting up a fight...but instead of posting negative remarks...maybe we all can discuss what is needed to be don ein order to get PAk out of this mess.

May be we all can start a petition or sumthing like that.
What say u guyz?

Thank God we have been given an opportunity to discuss Pakistan's team selection for WC and their performance in SA.
The overall tour brings a sense of dejavu. Pakistan toured SA b4 the WC and were soundly thrashed. Infact, even the results had the same sequence, just that the third match was not a washout last time. And in the last WC pakistan crashed out in the 1st round. Looks like this time its gonna be the same.
Whoeever selected the WC must be crazy. 4-5 selections dont make sense.
1. Rana needs a boot and badly. A novice would have been better. Shahid Nazir could have been tried. ATleast he doesn't leak 9 runs an over.
2. Shoaib Akhtar. True, he is a matchwinner etc. BUT what is the guarantee of him lasting a tournament? If he breaks down in the middle of the tournament, the entire unit and country would feel let down. He should have been dropped even if he declared he was fit. He is a walking liability for Pakistan.
3. Kamran Akmal. The guy spills more chances than the runs he makes. Again, a novice like Zulqarnain or even Moin Khan (however ridiculous it may sound) would have been a better option.
4. Rao Iftikhar. Some1 who hasn't played for so long suddenly gets in a WC squad. Azhar Mahmood is a good batter at 8 or 9 and can be skiddy on WI pitches.
5. Danish Kaneria. Another surprise inclusion when he hasnt played ODIs at all.
With 1/3rd the squad not meriting selection, I would be surprised if Pak would be able to even compete against the top teams. The format would be very similar to 92 WC as every team would be playing each other in Super 8s. so Pakistan has to win against the other top 7 teams to have a chance. Good luck to them.

Moin Khan should return to the side. He will strengthen the keeping and our batting. Getting Kaneria back in the team is a great move.

When you come to think of it, our team has good players who have performed well in the past. The problem is, they are good individual players... not teammates! All great players say one thing "BEST BATSMEN OF THE TEAM SHOULD OPEN THE INNINGS OR COME AT NUMBER 3". But our best batsmen are too scared of facing the music with the new ball... if they do, they will not be able to last long. Imran Farhat, Imran Nazir, Mohd. Hafeez, Kamran Akmal... where is the experience?!?!? Look at Saurav Ganguly... he has been fantastic since he returned, playing at Number 1... he has played 5 matches and scored 98, 48, 70, 13, 67! Look at Hayden, he is experienced...opens the innings and has been doing great. Ponting is coming at number 3! look at the experience these guys have. Look at Chanderpaul, best batsmen in the side... opening the innings! Look at Flemming, being a captain he opens the innings. Sanath Jayasuriya is still opening the innings and scoring TONS!

But our seniors like Inzimam, Younus (who has recently taken Number 3), Yousuf, Razzak, Shoaib Malik (who I consider a CHICKENNED OUT SENIOR), Afridi (whose place is NUMBER 1 or 2 as far as I am concerned) ... are all AFRAID of facing the new ball... because if they do, their scores will be less!!! IS THAT TEAMWORK!?!?!?!?

well well well...what have we gotten ourselves into? I am shocked at the inclusion of asif in the last game..i mean what is the management trying to do? you sit out yasir hameed for the world cup? whose only fault is playing consistant in his last four games...why is imran nazir included in the squad just because of a solitary 50? obviously PCB does not have the right people to guide this team. every time i think at the way they are beaten breaks my heart. this is a team that has been at number 3 the whole time playing edge to edge with the top 2 teams. now that the world cup has arrived the teams breaking down. too many useless openers and alrounders that don't do this or that in the team and are there just because PCB thinks they can play. the whole story short....all PCB members should be banned from cricket

Batting is becoming our biggest concern. we keep worrying about depleted bowling resources but no bowling attack can defend such pathetic batting display and that too in consecutive matches.
What really worries me is that our batting is filled with allrounders who can thrive on good starts and dead pitches but can do nothing when chips are down with frontline batsmen having failed, as is becoming a normal scenario. Our World Cup squad has only 5 specialist batsmen. Amongst them Inzimam can get unfit anytime and is also not in his prime anymore, Hafeez is short of confidence while Imran Nazir is un-tested really. We needed a 6th batsman is the 15 man squad. I know there are no real quality middle order alternatives in the backup but Yasir Hameed was a flexible option given that he can open aswell as come at Nbr 3.

I thought we South Africans were harsh on our team when we go through bad patches! pakistan performed reasonably in the test series until the pressure was applied. In the 1 day series they were aweful. Only asif can leave our shores with his head held high (youssuf too!). I hate seeing pakistan perform terribly, they used to be such a joy to watch (on their day anyway!). Thing is, good sides peform well consistently. australia are proof of that and to a lesser degree south africa as well. you have all the talent but no application. Perhaps some team memebers should look at players like kallis, he is the perfect cricketer, good bowler, excellent fielder and 1 of the worlds premier batsmen. Why? Technique and Consistency! technique can be worked on and the consistency will come from that!!! quit moaning about the injuries to players, it is a world wide phenomenon! if those are the only players available then they must step up accordingly. playing for your country is an honour and not a right!! The worlds best spinner has not played 1 day cricket in a while now and i do not hear them complaining about it!!! Dig deep and remember to ALWAYS support your country!!! oh yeah, if south africa don't win the WC, then i hope that pakistan do!!!!!

good luk pak

I agree with many of the comments made here. But lets be more realistic. All teams have struggled against South Africa in their country. At least Pakistan resisted a bit.

Anyhow, it is true, their performance in the last two ODI matches were simply pathetic.

I don't think there is much to benefit from talking about the past and all now. Maybe after the world cup, for now, we should prepare the best possible team for West Indians and thats it.

If Shoaib, Gul and Asif are in the attack, along with Kaneria and allrounders such as Razzaq, Afridi and Malik, I think the bowling dept. would be perfect. If one doesn't play, we have Sami for replacement.

As for the batting, I don't know why don't we have pure batsmen with good technique in the top order! Yaser Hameed and someone like Salman Butt perhaps. We can have Imran Nazir to replace one if there is a need to attack in a certain match. We can send the all rounder earlier too! And Kamran Akmal can play at no. 6 or 7.

With all this talent, and a world class middle order, the team is pretty good. So where is the problem?

To be honest, its with the negative defensive mindset of Inzamam and Woolmer. They have done well to make a united team. But they must understand we Pakistanis can only win when we are aggressive. That how we won the World Cup and thats how we won the 2nd ODI recently.

But sadly, the only attacking tactic Inzi and Woolmer have is to send sloggers top the order. If it clicks, they go one to win. But I am sorry to say, with a disciplined team such as SA, sloggers will seldom "click". Not to mention the SA grounds.

Pakistan must play attackingly. This doesn't mean they hit boundaries all the way. This means they go out there knowing they can win. This means no matter how tough the other team, our players fight like Pakistanis!

I guess this is it, it too late to change the mentality of the current team. But lets hope we have regular pitches in West Indies like always, where our current batsmen can peform, and lets hope we have the bowling attack that we deserve, to dismiss the other team!

According to me, key players would be the openers, Younis, Yousuf and Inzi(as a player at least), then Asif, Gul, Akhtar and maybe Naved. most of them play well, and Afridi and Razzaq score quickly at the end, we have the world cup I assure you.

But are all of them ready? Is Inzi confident enough? Do the have the bravehearted Pakistanis or the thinking and nervous English style players?

Lets wait and see.

very much disapointing. i can't understand the role of mushi with the team.we can't won matches due to spin becaz our spinners are no murli or warne. we can only won with good fast bowlers. and disapointingly we lost dady of reverse swing from coaching of our team by us.

and i think that in west indies conditions reverse swing in later stages of innings will be the decisive factor. this is a crime to not pick the deserving players. becaz i have won 2 previous U-19 worldcups but no single man is brought in to national seen from those 2 champion sides. where is that anwar ali by the help of which pakistan won the last U-19 world cup from our rivals. he showed a lot of character in that match and despite in their first innings pakistan only managed 108 he then restricted in dia to 9/6 in 10 overs at one stage .so plz bring those tigers.

i m great fan of inzi but i think he did not do the justice with players we can see hafeez's performence in the tour in still he is going to westindies. so this all is so much disapointing for me thats y i comment in this blog.

but friends i m sure pakistan will be in the semi finals in windies.

well mr kamran.......

Rana is not even able to take a single wicket.....he bowled like a big looser on the pitch...........no wickets averaging over 9 per over in the series......

Kamran Akmal has potential but he has lost it!!!in the fact that he might be kicked out of bad performances.....and in the fear of it.........he is actually doing it!

Shoaib is a match winner.....Gul n Asif they are good enough to be in the world cup squad......Nazir should had been included in the squad.........As we have seen 2nd ODI was won bcoz of his blasting start............he can be indeed a match winner.....but what the hell is HAfeez doing in the team????Wasnt Imran Farhat mort trusted opener than that crap hafeez?????HE is not even transferring his weight while playing a cover drive.......Why was he included in the squad????

Danish kaneria should had been given a chance to prove himself.........BUT NOT DIRECTLY IN THE WORLD CUP.......Why the hell they brought abdur-rehman to SA and not DAnisH?????and all they had to say on it was big mistake???huh......

This is the same thing that happnd with us in Champions Trophy........Our team is not able to win against any top teams........oh yes they can win against ireland canada or any other team.........i wonder can they give a challenge to BANGLADESH or not???....

Still i love Paki cricket.......and my hopes are up((((WHICH I AM SURE WILL GO DOWN SOON))))....

Now here is the polite version of my comments.
I think it is a high time to bring another set of corrupt PCB management time who can take the PCB management to higher level of incompetency. Fire all the chiefs.

i am sorry to say but i have never ever been disappointed by the Pakistan's performance ever this much but this has crossed all the boundries....but u know what i still believe that Pakistan can perform good in the WC..INSHALLAH..i know many people would be laughing at me right now but what can i do my heart never gives up on PAKISTAN.....

I just happens that I don't work for The Nation (Bangkok), a publication crowded by Indians, anymore otherwise I would have been behaving like an ostrich. While I do appreciate Osman Samiudin and Kamran Abbasi's writing skills, I don't gave a damn for their "expert opinion". No matter which way you look at it, Danish Kaneria, Mohammad Sami and Rana Naved are highly over-rated in a David Beckham-ish way. Kaneria is no Abdul Qadir and not even Mushtaq Ahmed, Sami has never delivered the goods and Rana's most outstanding achievement, so far, has been staying behind with the team and not attending his father's funeral. Shahid Afridi goes boom-boom in one match to silence Osman and Kamran's guns and then he is only poof-poof for probably eight to 10 matches. I fail to understand how these characters have been rated so highly time and accommodated in the national team for so long? Why is it so important to have a leg-spinner in the side all the time or are we trying to court Bal Thackeray? The point about Tablighee Jamaat is taken, but are we left with any other course then to pray for the team that we all love?

I think we are all forgetting one thing. We faced a very good and a very professional South African team. They seem to be emerging as the next "Australians"
They just beat India 4-nil. I'm happy with that fact that we were able to beat them once.
What has been difficult was the way we lost those 3 games. I think in the end we just gave up, didn't have an answer on how to deal with a team better than us and once the realization kicked in that we are not good enough we just gave up. We just got tried, didn't want to be out their playing, had one eye looking to the East back home, the other to the West towards the Caribbean.

At the end of the day what lacked was professionalism. They have to start realizing that they are not playing cricket for fun or as a hobby. They are doing it professionally, and being payed some very high sums of money to do that. And if they are good enough they should be fired. The basic problem I feel is the lack of common sense and lack of quality education. Which then is a problem the whole country faces not just the players. We need more leaders and more motivators, may it be on the field or in the dressing room.

As far as our fielding is concerned, nothing can be done. We are bad, and that is not going to change any time soon. Maybe in another 5-10 years when a new batch comes in.

Right now the team is selected. This is who we are going to play with, although there are definitely going to be 1 or 2 changes. Lets now support them.and give them our full backing. And lets hope and pray that our team puts up a decent performance, one that makes us proud to call them our team.

Unprofessional and unethical approach. What our team is making ahead of others is negative attitue the what kind of defense should be, how to make the game into disrepute. I think most unwanted crickters in the world would be Pakistani cricketers. Unless or untill they would have the positive attitue or aggression, they wouldn't be able to be Gentlemen People.

Ever since the 92 world cup the whole of the Pakistani nation has become over obsessed on the world cup. It is really not the be all and end all of cricket. What we should aim for is to become a consistently good team. We should concentrate on each match, each tour. Primarily, we need to play more test matches and build a good test unit. If you develop a team with good skill set your one day team will automatically improve and you will achieve consistent result. In doing so we will also stand more of a chance at major tournaments like the world cup.
But please guys, it is just one tournament. We are one of eight top teams playing it so even on equal probabilities our chance of winning is only 12.5%.
The team that wins the world cup may still not be the number one team in the world as was the case in 92 and 96. Even though Pakistan and SriLanka won, Australia was still considered the best.
We need to accept that we dont have the most resourceful team at this point of time. By expecting too much we are just placing ourselves and the team under too much pressure. So just relax and enjoy the beautiful game.

I think we should not participate in the world cup altogether. There is no need to. Rather we should send all these players of ours on a Caribbean cruise, because thats what they would be really planning to do with the board chairman, selectors and the whole entourage, vacations. We all know the results already and the rhetoric that follows as well, so why bother.

I see from my end that Pakistan's hope for World Cup will be same as of Kenya, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. I don't see future of Inzamam and Bob after World Cup. Inzamam from the start of this tour looks very weak and dejected and he really don't want to learn. Its time to say Good Bye to Inzi... BAD LUCK

mental toughness...is that a word in pak team's dictionary? they just give up like meek rabbits.
i gotta say kamran....ur blog was a little emotional. i stopped investing my emotions in pak cricket a long time ago. hope you learn to do the same too. and as for the "where is the shame part"...kamran, the only type of ghairat available in pakistan nowadays is the karo-kari type. i think pakistani team has become insensitive to the losses and it simply doesnt hurt them. so getting beaten day in and day out is not a problem for them. why should we the fans make it a problem then? we cant go out and play for them,can we?
and mawali, i agree with your comments entirely...winning does matter. its just that the present lot wasnt born with this mentality. wholesales changes or traditional setup wont add to nothing. the attitude needs to be changed....a team psychiatrist/psychologist/motivational leader anyone??

Well friends! dont be so embarressed! This is Pakistan cricket History. They dont have bouncy wickets and they dont have technical Batsmen. In the past we have one advantage our others that we have good bowlers. But know it looks that every new youngster is physically unfit. Please privatize PCB, so that we have some professional cricketers in future

Guys, I am from India and followed the recent Pakistan- SA series. Contrary to what you may think a lot of people in India do have a healthy respect for the Pakistan team. Why, a lot of us believe that what the Pak team may lack in talent(if at all), they more than make up for it in the attitude and pride with which they play. And this has been true of all the teams over the past 20 years or so since i have been watching.

But it was disappointing to see the chaps play the South Africans. You had bowlers who had the pace and ability to swing the ball and do well on SA pitches and yet they got hit for 390 odd. And with batsmen of the class of Inzy , Yousuf and Younis Khan, to see them get out for 150 odd is disappointing.

Having said which, if there is one team which can bounce back from the absolute depths its Pakistan, so go easy on your guys, they wont embarass you in the World Cup.

I said on 11th feb that "har shakh pe ullo baitha hai" about the retired army pesonals sitting on important and key posts of all the institutions of the country, now I think that the more suitable would be "har shakh pe ullo ka pathha baitha hai" keeping in mind the performance of the alone Pakistan Cricket team for the last three four years. U know a retired General headed the PCB for long, same is the case with PHF and Pakistan Sports Board as well, all had been conquered and occupied by the Generals alongwith the occupation of the country at different times in the very short history of Pakistan’s existence. I think most of the fellow country men will be more angered than me, on the present plight of Cricket in the past four five years, that has been miserable and shameful for the country except few successes. But it is very funny and seems like a joke to note, that whenever, u will ask about a problem from a high up in the government, u will be surprised by his competence about camouflaging every mess in a very beautiful way and giving an impression of “SAB ACHA HAI” and simultaneously will not feel any shame in doing that.
You see too much money and resources are available with PCB, which are being wasted in lavish activities, in stead of promoting the game. It is a big question mark on the performance of all those so called high ups in PCB that they have failed to prepare a back up team to overcome any crisis like the one, presently being faced. Nothing can be said, except burning your own heart/blood, that we are in fact occupied and are slaves actually caught by our own army and that is too, being financed by our own taxes-the hard earned money.
Until and unless, hypocrisy, favoritism, conspiracies are there in PCB, no good news can be expected, except few shameful news, like sacking of team coach, and bowling coaches in an insulting manner, who are also the heroes of the nations. All is unfortunate indeed.

This is the lowest point of Pakistan cricket. We have no where to go but up from here. I dont mind the ODI series loss, just the manner in which our boyz just roled over was pathetic. Losing by that margin doesnt do justice to our country, the team really needs to look at the whole nation and see how many people theyve let down. Just putting up a fight wouldve been enough. We are the third best team in world cricket, not just based of the ICC ratings. Every team is looking good and prepared for the path to worldcup except our boys. Kamran you hit it right on the button and Im thoroughly disgusted, disappointed and emabarassed. Our fielding, batting, bowling and heck even the keeping is in shambles. Was this the strategy that Woolmer, Inzy the old guys on the board,the know it alls running the show behind the scenese had in mind?

As much as I am mad at this team ,I think ,We shuold start the blame and pointing of fingers toward the GRAND Chief selctors of PCB, it is about time ,they should accountable for their actions , we have yet to ever question Wasim Bari, about his responsibility and what he owes us, Asking a captain and coach who I think are the Laziest peple about who should be on the field ,I think it is a joke ,we are only month away from the most important event in cricket and we still do not even have a clue about who should be our opening batsman, etc,We still have not even given a full opportunity to any one of worldcup junior champions ,I suppose they really are not connected with the higher peoples of pcb,I think those young kids will probably have more talent ,more hunger ,and last but not least PRIDE.......

first of all i am indian who supports the pakistani team from my choldhood days and there any muslim indian who support the pakistani team from their heart . it really hearts when pakid\stan plays like that.it hurts us but idont think it really bother the team .WHY does INZY BATS SO DOWN THE ORDER IS HE AFRAID OF THE FAST BOWLERS WHILE HE IS THE BEST PAYER OF FAST BOWLING.RANA IS OF NO USE .WHATS THE USE OF THE USE OF COACHING STAFF WHICH CANNOT KEEP THE BOWLERS FIT.DOES MUSHTAQ AHMAD DOES NO ABOUT ANYTTHING ABOUT FAST BOWLING THAT HE IS THE COACH.WHERE IS THE PAKISTNI TEAM WHICH COULD DEFEND 150 AT EASE .RAZZAK DOSENT SEEMS THE BOWLER OF THE PASSED ,HE GET SMASHED EVERY NOW THEN.MAY ALLAH MAKES INZY READ THIS .ALLAH HAFFIZ.

The way Pakistanis played in South Africa is not disappointing but embrassing. There is little hope that this will do better in the World Cup. The team needs motivation. How does PCB motivate the team. Obviously pride in representing Pakistan is not a good enough motivation for the team. I suggest the following:
1. Scrape all the central contracts with the players. Comparing what these not perfroming, not committed players are paid compared to what average hard workings Pakistanis earn is not acceptable.
2. Make payment per matches played with bonuses for perfromance. This will ensure accountability. You earn what you deserve.

If the current lot is not motivated by the pride for playing for your country, let them be motivated by money. These players had it easy so far, let them earn their living as any Pakistani does by putting in hard days work.

When the controlling body is run by non-professionals and captain is non-inspirational,the result is what we have seen.

Pakistan has always been inconsistent since Imran Khan left the Team.
Sub continent teams are and will always be controlled by too many bosses within their respective Cricket organization.
A Keep restructing plan should be inforced in the PCB. Run by a bunch of Unprofessional outfit.
Bring In Imran Khan and lets sit down and have a long term vision. If performance is not good drop him at least a certain level should always be there. Nothing is wrong in loosing but you cant be embarrased............
Imran Khan Please COME BACK WE NEED YOU!!!!!!!!!!
For the future of the Pakistan Cricket. Only you can bring in the discipline of nature into the PCB and change our whole mental approach of how to Play this GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's a big big big shame for the Pakistani's cricket . South Africa once again put the Pakistan to think about their future.
I have decided ,not to watch the cricket again even , in the World Cup. There is no sinceriety , no good attitude even with their coach , even within the team .There is no fitness in the players ,All the bowlers are going to unfit. The team should think for the Pakisatani fans who put their works aside, and they only watch the TV , and also pray for the team that it may win , it may win. But the team have no spirit,no enthusiasm for playing.Its going to the dogs.
I can only pray for the Pakistani team "Inshalllah Pakistan will come on to the top once again like in 1992". May Allah bless Pakistani team .

yes, pakistan were looking to bad in game.because they were not playing with there playing eleven.if pakistani,s were equiped with pace of shoaib and beauties of gul and firing of afridi than no doubt that they can win one-day as well as test series.thank you

stop all the bashing i get the point of having some character issue being disscused on here and come on there is no way inzi will start upfront he never had since he's been a captian and he wont do it know so we all just need to chill with that subject. TRUST ME ALL THE PEOPLE ARE ENTITLED TO THEIR OPINIONS BUT YOU SAME PEOPLE WHO ARE BASHING THE TEAM KNOW WILL BE PATTING THEM IN THE BACK IF THE TEAM PRODUCED GOOD RESULTS IN WCUP. we all no cricket is a prt of politics in pakistan and it will never change and we all no alot of players come up and play on national team just from (safarish)

embarrassed, yes, I had a feeling that SA could fool Pakistanies with a simple plan, drop the ball short, induce pull or hook shot, if this does not work, pitch full just outside off stump and lurk them into drives and just make sure to catch the gifts coming your way. 3 Test and 5 ODI's same trick working, and none of coaching staff bothered to counter the plan. And I am strong believer but to keep the belief in likes of Razzaks, Ranas and Hafeezs takes some doing!

Dear Kamran Abbassi
You have really summed it up for all of us. Every time we see a pathetic performance like this, we decide never to involve our emotions again & yet again we get glued by the slight glimmer of home and yet again we get hurt. On top of that, Bob Woolmers article on crickinfo website titled"turning a corner" really glares in ones full view that the management is totally oblivious to the teams continuous downfall.

regards
N qazi, UK

losing is one thing, losing like we did i mean wow, we just reached a new low.
but believe me its not over yet...im sure before march 13th, there will be alot of surprises from the pakistani camp yet...mainly regarding the squad, wait and watch.
About their performance, well thrashed 4 TIMES(including the 20/20), is not acceptable.
It was a longg tour, but still no excuse for the utter rubbish Pakistan gave.
I guess on this blog everything bad HAS been mentioned, but on the other side of this story, after such a strong showing in ODI's of late...maybe such a jerk was needed b4 the WC2007, especially for pakistani players...
so all they need to do is, take it in their stride, for all one knws this cud be the kick in the back tht cud take pakistan alonggg way...
so lets back our team and wait...

Inzi has to go. He's now filled the team with mediocre yes-men, with no ego and no gusto. All 'problem' players are 'injured' or banned. They don't know how to handle talent. How did Ponting handle Warnie?

Make Afridi the captain. You'll see the fire in everyone.

Historically Pakistan has a better track record against all nations except three(England, Australia and South Africa).
Bob should have worked on Pakistan problem against swing. They are very edgy always. OK...wait Younis is not but he always gets himself out when he is set. Pakistan should open with Malik and Hafeez, with younis, yousaf and Inzi to follow. I will vote for Javed as a future coach...

Pakistan was and is underdog in South Africa.So,
we must give credit to green shirts that they at least won a test and odi despite of lacking in every depart of the game.so, if shobi is back we can hope better performance than in sa in 2003

Even though last night's performance makes me grind my teeth in anger, I do realize that cricket is only a game.

Having said that, last night's performance opens another can of worms: Since Bob Woolmer and Inzi have been trying so many combinations and permutations, and quiet unsuccessfully, it follows that they will HAVE to experiment again during the World Cup matches. As frustrating as it sounds, it is the truth. For example, who opens with Imran Nazir (if he does at all!) - Hafeez of Shoaib Malik? If it's Malik then again that is an experimentation. Both ways people are going to shout and demand the head of Bob Woolmer.

I personally think that we have had enough experimentation. No matter how sucky Hafeez and Nazir may be, they are our only options to open with. Risking and experimenting Malik as opener is just not a good idea. I am sure he will hit a century against the lesser teams and people might think "See! We were always right!". But, against better oppositions that might not necessarily be true. The same people will then be heard cussing Woolmer for experimenting. Ludicrous!

Lastly, this team is not going anywhere unless Inzamam leads from the front. Sorry to say, he has become a liability to the team and he really is taking up the place of another deserving cricketer. The only way to redeem himself is to lead from the front. One good thing that has come out of all the experimentation of the last 2 years is YK and MY combination at 3 and 4. I hope better sense prevails and this combination is not changed UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!

I am an indian and I can tell you if there was any team that the top guns (Aus, SA or SL) have to worry about it in WC, it is Pak. I would never discount Pak. I got a lot of respect for Inzi and Asif and those guys - they will rise to the occasion when it counts. And from having seen India play Pak, all it will take for Pak is to have a few games with us to get back on top. I am serious. Sometimes the opposition can spur a team on.

Such performance was always on the cards. A test win was more than what we all expected from our team. The test series was hard fought.

ODI series much effected by injuries and we never expected any good from our batting in SA.

And it wont change much for WC. I just pray that our announced 15 men squad remain fit and playable for the WC than Pakistan are massive team to beat in WI. Otherwise, I dont think we'd be lucky enough like we were in 92.

Love Pakistan :)

I completely disagree to Mr.Kamran Akmal. Kindly,first of all do not compare both the teams output and world cup has nothing to do with this series. We know last month what happened to the team India and the way they played this season is outstanding. Pakistan has been outstanding in terms of form at the world cup. We all know what damage pakistan team can do with its batting and bowling. So,its better to support the tema at this time and to look forward to the world cup
I wish the Team All the best wishes!!!
Amit,Indian

It is high time for Pakistan to appoint auditors for team selection. Mr. Rana has given more than 5.5 runs throughout his career & recently may be more than 8. How can he still be selected for World Cup? I am sure many people will start questioning the integrity of team management.
Inzi is not smart enough to make things happen he likes to be sorrounded by like minded people. He can be blamed for mis-management of Shohaib Akhtar's career and many others.

Just like you guys to feel 'ashamed' and 'embarrassed'; our 'honour' has been smudged. Stop this nonsense! OK, I am Indian, and shouldn't care...but, end of the day I support Pakistan against all teams except India.

Now you understand this:
- Teams can have bad periods
- SA is a tough environment. They are very poor hosts. Period. The crowds, the players, the atmosphere - everything is stifling. That wears you down. An alien team can take it only for so long...especially, emotional Asians.
- You have the bowlers to knock over champion teams'; and, you have the batsmen to blast any bowling attack. Have faith in them. Yes, faith...I hope that rings a bell.

Lesson 1: Forget bickering, and root for them.

Having said that, I agree that the openers are useless, and Inzy should bat higher up.

Lesson 2: There are minor issues. Fix them.

I still believe that we are the best team in the world and Pakistan can turn the things around in world cup.I think we should support them for world cup because at this stage their confidence will be very low.Come on guys feel like champs and INSHALLAH we will be World Champions.

It's heartening to watch the entire series between pakistan and south africans. We pakistanis don't cherish dreams, we live in the real world and we know our dear Brutuses. It's them, the self styled leaders and chairmen who have led us to this pathetic stage. Ganguly the former indian captain is thrown out of the team just because of not showing performance in 20 to 25 ODI's but Inzamam, the feeble guay is still in the team after not having played innings of his class in the last 40 to 50 matches. Look at his figures, 374 matches, about 12000 runs, only 10 centuries and 81 half centuries!!!!! It's disappointing, utterly disappointing.
Forget about it! We have excuses for our heroes, charateristic of our nation.I have a couple of suggestions for pakistan team. Try to formulate a group of legendary pakistani former crickters, including, Imran Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Waseem Bari, Waqar Younis, and Saqlain Mushtaq today. Request them to give advice, suggestions and tips to your world cup squad. The world cup squad, Imran Nazir and Shoaib Malik opening. These gentlemen tell Imran Nazir not to play across the bat. I think, they don't have to tell much to Malik, a cricketer loyal to the game.Younis needs to be told, that captaincy will only fall to his lap, if he stays and scores consistently. Yousef to needs some advise from Zaheer Abbas. He to should prolong stay at wicket and score accordindg to the need and requirements of the team. Inzy should say good bye to game as his started, ferocious and untamed. It's should be the last of the Muhecan from him.
The think tank should analyse the performance of our team daily, if they like they can borrow bob's lap top!!!!! Yes, Inzy needs direly some tips for reading the wickets and change bowling when the best one are thrashed heavily. Every time think positively and be aggressive not towards the players but towards the game itself. Inzy, you are short of leardership qualities. Please, do us this favour last time.

Shame indeed! I have to place the blame for the sorry state of Pakistani cricket squarely on Inzimam's shoulders. He's shown to be a poor leader and unable to motivate his players. I had a good laugh when he was appointed vice captain thinking that one day he would lead the side and praying then that that day never comes. Unfortunately it did Inzi didn't prove to be the disaster I thought he would infact its at a scale I could've never imagined. He has consistently shown lack of motivation and innovation and these days is seldom found on the field. Sure times were good when he was batting well he seems like a man of few words and probably motivated the boys through his willow. Nowadays it hurts to watch him or Pakistan play I can't recall the last time I actually managed to watch a complete game without cursing out at how stupid and inept our cricketers are at applying themselves. I don't think Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Rashid Latif or any other critics should be allowed to bellow on about the state of Pakistani cricket as other than Latif none of them have really made any positive contributions to the side of late. Imran wants people he likes selected why sir? are you a member of the selection committee? or part of the PCB set up? We've all heard his and Wasim's comments on the exclsion of Shoaib and the incident with Woolmer but did any of them stand up and say "you know what Shoaib got injured because he was not fit. He was fat, over weight and the selectors knew what they were talking about at the time. We would like to appologise to the relevant people for our misplaced statements."? No, not even a hint of it. Can anyone honestly argue that Shoaib's inhury wasn't due to lack of match practice or fitness? I guess Bari isn't the idiot the country would like to believe, though Dr. Nasim Ashraf, as he likes to call himself, is.

I think Nasim Ashraf is the plague effecting Pakistan cricket we cannot improve or move forward till we get rid of people like him, stop criticising the coach whose advice seems to fall on deaf ears every day. How is a man supposed to coach a bunch of street cricketers who refuse to come to the pitch of the ball or duck the short one when the world knows off their inability to play at it.

well well well ! but i think this is not hapeening in the Pakistan cricket team ,they way they lost the series it is really shameful.

still i am unable to understand what is the reason behind mushtaq ahmed's inclusio as an assitant coach , is he only thier due to the close relationship with inzi.

i think under these circumstances thier is a very slight chance of Pakistan win in the worldcup and i am afraid even against temas like scotland etc.Inzi has lost his class due to age factor and he should not be the part of one day team and management should give the chance to players like misbha , shahid yousaf and many others who are performing well on domestic level.

in the end i think Woolmer has done nothing special and even he has not given a regular opening pair to our team which hurts a lot.this is the duty of coah to sit with the plyaer and tell his mistkaes and flaws in his technique but woolmer was unable to do this.

First - Mr. Abbasi I am a big fan of your comments, second I think you should probbly get these translated into urdu and maybe posted or sent to our cricket team, especially the one about shame, it seems like Imran was the only one to actually care - his people, his pride.... I am tired of the shameless excuses given by our captain(of whom I used to be a big fan) that every time they win people rally behind them and every time they lose they are crucified... maybe someone should remind this team that they are professionals, they are paid to do this!!! it is their job!! Pakistan Zindabad

Salam Mr Abbasi,

Really a thought provoking article, very rightly put, whole bunch is Lackadaisical, and absolutely unprofessional.
I have no doubts, this lot has the potential and requisite skills which a best team should possess, however they lack leadership. A charasmatic leader,who could get the best out of them, but Alas ,it seems none among them has leadership traits.
Mr Abbasi, if you could recall your memmories of late 80s and early 90s, you will find the likes of Manzoor Elahi, Saleem Jaffer, Rizwan u zaman, etc, there were preety ordinary cricketers but this was Imran Khan who was instrumental in their success( though very limited). I still remeber Imran once said Manzoor Elahi is Pakistani Bootham and manzoor did rise to the ocassion and performed better then his capabilities. This is what and only Pakistan needs.
PCB runs talent hunt schemes, they should launch a leader hunt scheme on emergancy basis.
Regards
Saif Abbasi

Disgusted with Pakistan's performance, although I think the problem with the team starts from the top.

Dr. Naseem Ashraf seems to be taking holidays while Pakistani cricket is being humiliated. Name a CEO that wouldn't be in his office 24/7 if his company was in a similiar state to Pakistani cricket.

What did Rana Naved and Mohammad Hafeez do to get on the plane to the world cup? Especially Hafeez? Rana could still say that he's going through a rough patch but could come out of it soon.

Hafeez's selection (an average of 18 with the bat and 40+ with the ball) leaves me stumped.

Yasir Hameed should have been on the plane.

Also the fact that Woolmer spends most of his time in England is pathetic. The fact that in his reign Asif and Gul are the only talented players to have been discovered.

Why have youngsters like Ali, Sarfraz and Jamshed been overlooked in favour of average players like Rana, Kamran and Faisal Iqbal.

Despite all that I'm still optimistic about the WC... don't know why.

Make Imran Khan coach of the team, half of the problems he will solve with his sheer presence. He will instill that fire in the belly of the team.Just listening to him on Indian TV channels has left me awestruck about his perspectives about the game and strategies.As for more realistic solution Pakistan should go with this team (in batting order) for World Cup:
1.Imran Nazir 2. Shoaib Mallik 3. Younis Khan 4. Inzamam 5. Yousuf 6. Afridi 7.Akmal 8. Hafeez/Razzaq 9.Shoiab 10. Umar Gul 11. Asif. Kick out Rana Naved ul Hasan ( He is Agarkar of Pakistan). Kaneria should be used as one of the bowlers against teams like South Africa, england and australia.And finally dont read too much about South African trip( SA are gonna face tough time on docile Carribean pitches)

As a Cricket lover I always appreciate Pakistan team's talent but it is hard to understand what Kamran akmal and Rana naved is doing in team, kamran akmal is very average behind wicket,we can understand when 1 or 2 chances gets drops by keeper but Kamran is doing this in almost every match, Is these no substitute for him in Pakistan ?? same for Rana I mean he bowls really badly with No Bolls , He should not be in the team , Rest needs some confidence and I am sure they will bounce back as they always do

I don't even feel like coming up with what i feel at the moment for "THE" Pakistani Cricket Team !!!

please dont judge by this series.it is very difficult to win a series in south africa.even the mighty aussies could not win the series last year.if iam not mistaken india had lost a one day series 5-2 against new zealand just before the 2003 world cup and everyone were criticising them.what was the end result?they reached the finals.it all depends on that one month of action packed cricket.we all know what pak are capable of.best wishes to pakistan!!!!!!
harish,bangalore,india

Now that pakistan has lost to SA ..i can see all the comments coming against them..i would'nt say all of them are fair ..but this is the time to cheer up the team rather then criticizing ..so everyone lets encourage ..and hope that we win the world cup..I.A.

An all round shameful performance is the sum of this SA tour. I played cricket only at club level but and probably know cricket less than these 'experienced' players but can anybody explain why Inzamam consistantly taking singles at first ball of every over to expose tail? Bowlers forget to bowl, batsmen forget to bat, keeper forget to keep what else? can anybody justify the inclusion of Rana, Shoaib Akhtar and Asif in the World Cup squad? Former has forget to bowl and later two under the cloud of dope test. We need an energetic and agile captain, after seeing the 20-20 tournament I am very much impressed by the captainship abilities of Shaid Afridi.

Well thats what happens when politics & favourism comes into play! I still do not understand why Waqar Yunus was left out and Mushtaq Ahmed was picked up for SA tour. Mr.Saleem Altaf, shamelessly argued on the T.V, we don't require him on this SA tour, I hope he knows what he requires now!! Inzi's favourism is destroying the quality of Pakistani Cricket. I wish these people (especially the PCB officials) can be held accountable for the blunders they make. Iam still hopeful for the world cup, because you never know, and for the pakistani team its the beating that makes them bounce back to new heights. Lets see if they can do it this time!

I think our team is looking for TV commercials, adds not looking for thier job to do for country.
If we see our players most of them run away from schools and they cant get better jobs except cricket is their future.
If anyone selected for National team he allways think to secure is place and looses concentration on their game. Due to lack of professionalism, decipline, and captancy race all are penetrated in our team players mind like brain tumer.

I have been watching cricket since last 20 years but i never seen good movement of feet to reach the ball and play a ball in right direction.
5th ODI Kamran Akmal faced first ball outside the offstump without any foot movement away from body if it was nick then he might go for another 0 .
I request our PCB to bring the right trainees in cricket acadmies in schools colleges to bring up the true talent, like Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younus, and our other Oldie legends.
Please save the Cricket not only by prayers, take some serious steps and throw them out MR. PURCHI,s

Nice way of portraying the feelings of millions of Pakistani fans.

There has been very few games in which Pakistan have played that I have missed watching or following by internet broadcast. But yesterday was the only time I decided to ignore the match altogether! I simply decided that enough was enough! I only found out the result the day after.

At what moment did I decide to switch off? When Hafeez lost his wicket! I feared for the worst. A capitulation, and it happened.

It is an embarassment to see any team go out like this, especially for us, Pakistan.

But Kamran, the worst is yet to come. I feel its going to be another campaign that will out do the last world cup and the recent champions trophy! It will be a while before we have a team that's capable of greatness! perhaps not in our life time!

PS. I normally don't write lenghthy pieces!

Well full credit goes to South Africans, They are favourite for the World cup.

Yah! Inji bhai has not leadership style though he can bound the team. I am sole fan of Pakistan among my friend but what shame for me and they let me down, Inji and woolmer let me down. I donot think this pakistani team will win world cup if they progress. no spirit! no commitment! no leadership! no proper selection!!
What a shame for me! I am Pakistanis cricket fan!!!!

I agree with all that has been commented on this blog. I don't think any blogger commands the kind of repsonse that Kamran does! It just shows how passionate the sub continent is in matters of cricket.

Some comments are more analytical than others and I fully agree with their sentiments: ergo India lost 4-0 to S.A and then beat WI convincingly who in turn had thrashed S.A in the Champions Trophy! So at home every team has an advantage and none more than S.A

What will happen in the World Cup we'll have to wait and see so folks don't get disheartened!

However it's always good to have constrructive criticism and in this again many have given good advice: One of the main issues is that strike bowlers were injured and missing: when S.A played India they also had great difficulty in the initial overs and lost early wickets so I am sure if Umar Gul and Shoab Akhtar were fit this would have been more than possible to achieve. Once the middle order was exposed to the new ball the shoe would have been on the other foot and just like Pakistan/India crumbled so could have S.A and the pressure could well have been reversed.

The second issue is about the openers: this is a critical problem with most sub continent teams. In this regard however I would say that Pakistan has had better strategy than India because atleast they have gone for fresh/ younger players: one of the main reasons for India's thrashing was that both openers failed consistently and most of the times the team failed to bat out the overs. Now see, India has changed it's openers and once again some success is being seen. So the main task is to see the new ball off as it will do something and not to lose wickets at that stage then, with the excellent middle order that Pakistan has a very good total can be posted.

Before being harsh on the openers let's not foget that agianst quality bowling the S.A openers have also struggled.So in the World Cup where the pitches would indeed favour the sub continent teams, I feel that the scale will be a bit more balanced and given a quality attack imbalances to some extent will be evened out and then it will depend on skill and mental toughness.

The sentiments, hurt and disappontment seen on this blog is exactly what was felt during the India- S.A tour so I can very well understand and feel for all the passionate supporters. But what I am seeing is some harsh comments on perosnal issues of some of the persons this is unhealthy: Mushtaq Ahmed was the leading wicket taker in the County and received massive support, good will and indeed affection from his team mates and fans there and was a wonderful ambassador for his country there.His work with the spinners was immediately seen with Kaneria's improved performance in the latter tests where he seemed totally revitilised and very effective.

I was only disappointed not to see Waqar Younis as a coach for the pace bowlers as they have to be really managed very well in todays packed cricketing schedule. The grounds of his non inclsuon provided by the PCB were flimsy and give room for speculation.

Inzamam as a Captain may appear to be a bit laid back and uninventive but I can assure you that he wants to win every game and he has worked very hard at his own fielding/ catching. What folks tend to forget during failure are certain pracitcalities . A Pakistani Captain has to lead a team of personalities so he has to have one of his own and critically he has to command the dressing rooms respect if he fails in these two areas he may be a brilliant stratagist on the field but he may not succed because a lot goes on in the dressing room and indeed has a very very important role in the players performance in particular which is reflected in the teams success.

We have been witnessing some fractious behaviour in the dressing room which unfortunately the whole viewing world could see between two big personalities (there are others as well who are quite capable of and indeed have flared up in the past)can you imagine anybody else who could control this type of a situation?

Also during the tests there were catches that went to ground and immediately Inzy denied claiming them this was a purely reflexive action mirroring his honest personality - sport has a way of showing the true personality of a person and I have watched Inzamam for a long time and can tell you he is a upright, honest and very dignified character.

This instance did not go unnoticed in the tests and all the commentators were one in praising him for this behaviour and personality. So there! Another great ambassador for the country!

What I would suggest is that he and the Vice Captain get together more often on the field and discuss about stratagy and the match situation and how to react to it because at times one needs an extra pair of eyes to assess what's happeing because it can get difficult to see the complete picture- anyone who has played the game will know that.

Lastly I would like to tell all the fans and there are lots from other countries as well not to lose heart: if all the players are fit Pakistan can be a very good team and indeed have a very good chance in the World Cup!

Nirbhay Singh

Agreed...... The problem to me is not with the team but the management. when you persist on bits and pieces and regard players for what they did long long ago it will happen. U need a specialist opener with sound technique and comeon what worthy has razzaq done ......its time to think about other options. But lets not lose hope

What a shame! Worst cricket performance i've ever seen!!"EVEN BANGLADESH WHOULD HAVE DONE BETTER THEN PAKISTAN!!!!" I am not proud to be a Pakistani, when i comes to cricket! We Need a new coach, and captin!! SOMEBODY HELP BEFORE I START TO HATE CRICKET ALTOGATHER!!!!!!!

I am from India (and, obviously, a very staunch supporter of the Indian team) and I guess, Kamran, you appear as fickle as any of the majority cricket fans from the sub-continent that you have cited in your article. I expected a more balanced review of the series from a person who writes a blog on a premier cricket website.
The thing is - and I have seen this happen with India too - that a series in South Africa does not tell us anything about how a team is going to perform in a World Cup. I would like to add series in New Zealand too. The pitches that they prepare for a home series are way too loaded in favor of the home team. India had a horrible series in New Zealand before the last World Cup, losing 5-2! But they lost just 2 matches in the World Cup (both against the eventual champions, Australia). They have had a horrible series in South Africa just recently but I am not reading much into it. Neither are most other more notable people like Sanjay Manjrekar, Ravi Shastri, et al. The pitches in a World Cup will never be graveyards for the batsman, otherwise where's the moolah going to come from?
Pakistan is a team that thrives on the kind of occasion that's presented to it. They are still "cornered tigers" and I think they still have it in them to go all the way in WC2007. I still remember the Test match (I don't remember where and I am too lazy to search cricinfo) against India when they were 3 down for nought and they won that Test match, thanks mainly to Kamran Akmal and Mohammad Asif. I know that's a long time back but all I want to say is that they had lost the one-day series and wanted to win the Test series badly and they just went out and did it! And that's just one instance I am pointing out here. There have been innumerable such efforts from them.
All the best! I hope India and Pakistan kick-ass in the World Cup and meet in the final! That would probably the best thing that can happen to cricket!

I completely disagree with some ppl here that Inzi be thrown out. I really love him as a captain, 2 ppl are really hopes for this team if Pak is to win World-Cup and they would be Inzi and Mohd. Yousuf.... SA tour proves nothing, just before WC i guess its time for reflections and rise up to occasion. Good luck to the team.

Embarassed! That's an understatement. I am absolutely gutted. Inzi was once asked in an interview after the 92 triumph, "What is your hobby".........He replied "Sleeping & eating". Well that sums it all up. He should revert back to his hobby. The chicken came and batted at No.6. History has proven that the dignified and glorified fight the battle upfront. The glare in their eyes says it all.........BRING IT ON!!!!! That's how Pak won in 92. The tiger captain came 1 down and lead from the front. As far as supporters of Pakistan are concerned. C'mon mates cheer up. Someone once said "When rape is inevitable, one should sit back & enjoy". I guess that's what every Pak supporter feels like coz the spineless, toothless team has forced us to sit back and enjoy.

Well i have gone thru all the comments and i feel that this is the time the Paki fans must be with the pak team. Dont write off the pak team from the WC( i am not writing them off).. I am sure they will make it to the last 4. I always have great respect for the pak team and i am sure Inzy and Co will not disappoint the pakistan fans. My advice to pakistani fans is just support your team in this time of need and dont criticise them.

First of all, I am a 100% Pakistani Supporter, but I am NOT in a position to congratulate South Africa for winning the one-day series 3-1 against Pakistan. I was so upset and angered by what I saw of the last 2 games, I just had to switch the television off. What makes Pakistan great and wonderful is a complete unit, we had key players missing "Akhtar, Gul, Afridi etc, I know as well as any Pakistani Supporter what Gul is capable of? Remember the Indian top order a couple of years ago?? and more recently his success against the West Windies. Well, we all know what Akhtar can do, the Sth Africans found out in the second test of this series. Let's not forget Afridi and his 35ball 77 which inspired Pakistan to a 141 Margin Win the the 2nd ODI. I am sorry but the Sth Africans got Lucky, they played a deflated team with key resources missing. But if we ever have a complete Pak team, playing in Harmony, which I hope we do in the World Cup; and are fortunate to meet the likes of Australia, Sth Africa etc then they best watch out, lets not forget as a current unit, who all tired and gave up the belief of Pakistani teams of old, the passion remains in every current Pakistani player, but when your mentally exhausted, their's nothing you can do. I have forgiven Pakistan for there current going's on purely based on my above comment. Every Great Team, has bad days. Just look at England v Australia recently.

u r right kamran these loses disheart every pakistani.after one month there s WC .Every team going with their force and perform well as a unit in there last matches.only pakistan team lose their matches plyers fitnes.nothing on the spot .In every WC w r on the favourate side but in this WC we r not.in this kind of perfoms who can say that we r the favourate.what will happend with inzi he is our est batsman he playing on # 6 psition.in every team there best batsman playing on top order .For example R ponting,S fleming,S tendulkar,R dravid,J killas etc .in these many players playing on #3.our best plyers yousaf and nzi playing on #5,6.there is a few days remaning alot work to do.hopley pakistan can improve in that time.hopley some injured players recover.so wish u best of luck pakistan

Selection, mismanagement, captaincy, all that does play its part. But after watching the one day series, I get the feeling that the basic skill level in this team, barring a few exceptions, is poor. A guy like Razzaq who can be a terror while batting on pancake flat pitches looks little better than a slogging tailender when there is a bit in it for the bowler. The less said about the fielding, the better. I mean can Inzy even berate another fielder for poor fielding, being the hopeless fielder that he is?

I am not a Pakistani but I always support pakistan's team in Cricket.Shamefull performance against SA hurts me as well.But still, I belive that there are the talants who can lift the WC for their team. The most embrassing fact is that having such a wonderfull combination and bunch of great players in the team, still they are declining.
If all important players be fit, then pakistan looks to be the most dengerous ODI team in the world. But most importently the players should be used and guided properly, which is lacking now due to a very poor captainship.
Team Pak have Everything, If the players are fit they would have a sansational bowling attack with pacefull Sohaib, extraordanary Asif and quality spinner Kaneria..they would be supported genuan allrounders like Afridi, Razak, Akmal...Rock solid middle order with class players like Younis, Yousuf, Inzy and malik...And dangerous big hitters like Afridi, razak Nazir.Yes they are in some problem about openig slot. But it doesnt mean there are not talents.The best way to open in my thought is to open with Salman butt and Sahid Afridi...Hafiz also not bad. But the team management never showed faith in any opener and after a couple of bad game they would be out of the team. This is the reason why openers are not performing.
Only thing missing in this team is a good captancy. Inzy is the worst captain in the world but there is not other good option also. But if the players perform then even the bad captancy could be hidden.Best of luck...

I'm glad someone has finally realised that the team is, for want of a WORSE word, a complete joke. How can one bowler (pollock) completely destroy a 'world class' batting lineup (younis,yousuf and inzi) 2 matches in a row, and then the other team comes out a bats as if they could've chased down 400 with ease. It's a complete disgrace, captaincy is also a joke-Rana is repeatedly being bowled by Inzi despite giving away runs as if he was paid commission for every run scored off his bowling. We lack out and out pace bowlers and I have no faith in Shoaib being fit for the WC, i've only seen 3 world cups in my time, Pakistan rode their luck in 1999 before giving a performance as bad if not worse than what they produced in SA, in the final. In 2003 we were out at the group stage and i can see the same happening again. It's not because of the defeats in SA it's because of the team in general-the just don't look like they could win a match-asif has no support in the bowling dept. and if younis a yousuf flop batting-wise then we're done for. It's a shame but like i said in my last comment we might as well just expect the team to go out at the group stage-anything else would be a bonus.

Kamran,

I'm from India and a fan of Pakistan Cricket. I have been reading a lot of comments on this blog all I find is 95% of my friends comments are criticising Pakistan performance and also writing off Pakistan. This is unfortunate. Being a critic is good, but it also very important to know that Pakistan is a very talented side. The conditions are different in South Africa. The English or Aussies are the only teams that can give South Africans a fight as they have similar conditions in their respective countries.
I think most of you have forgoten that Inzy is a batsman with class and very difficult to get him out. This is the first time I saw that he is out of form is SA.
Mohd. Yousuf: He has a world record in his name for the most number of test hundreds in a year.
Shoaib Malik: An underrated batsman. I feel he is the best batsman in the world as he has the right technique, very rarely you find him out in less than 30 runs.
Rao Iftekar - a bowler who can bowl consistently at a pace of nearing 140kph, it was seen in the last one dayer.
Younis Khan: a future captain for Pakistan.
Isn't this enough to prove how strong this team is. Also one needs to remember that the conditions in West Indies are similar to that of the Sub-continent. Don't write them off. I'm sure they will reach the semis of the world cup.

100% agree with you.

Well, well, well…..I almost went through all the comments flowing across the globe from the beloved fans of Pakistan cricket. Today, in my office, one Indian colleague of mine came to me smiling from ear to ear and said: “Pakistan ka to kal both bura Hashr Hua”. I got livid but calmed myself and said: “We Lost 3-1, U guys got thrashed 4-0. At least we won 1”. The crux of the matter is that Our Cricket team doesn’t have any sense that there are Millions of people watching & praying for them. We sacrifice our peace, sleep, rest, time, money etc jus to see these guys….and what we get in return is utterly sissy display. Especially, we, the overseas Pakistanis have to face so many different individuals and follow all sorts of interrogations that include Taunt, speculation, mockery (especially from these damned Indians). I really wanted to cry once I came to know the results just fearing to confront other nationals. I am not sure whether I am going to watch the World Cup…though u never know these guys may pull it off…but the truth of the matter is this was Shambolic……& Depressing too.

Rana,Hafeez,Akmal,Razzaq,Iftekhar,Inzi- wish we get rid of them soon…..& im certain that’s not going to happen. Still, Moulanas ki dua se hi shayd kaam baney ab to.
Best of luck to all.

Well i agree with most of the comments here tht our team doesn't fight like the ONCE Cornered Tigers. Only Inzi is left from tht batch but he is also has become a OLD tiger then a young one.

we need a captain who can beat the crap out of players and make them play like Imran Khan.even wasim said if Imran was there Shahid Afridi would have been more consistent or he would have been kicked out till now. Inzi is just too relaxed :(

:). You guys think you're embarrassed? Look at me, I'm Indian and the way we're playing...is better left not talked about.

Much like the Pakistan cricket team that Kamran Abbasi has accused of lack of commitment and heart I see nothing else in his article. Remember the team is missing 2 key bolwers, Afridi was banned, Asif was exhasted, Nazir was in after 4 years, Kaneria was left out and the coash has made it clear he was leaving. How could anyone reallistically expect the team to do well. To start complaining about lack of commitment is silly. Pakistan will do well if they have their full sqaud in the WC, they didnt do well in SA because they were playing with half a team that was allready v tierd.

every cricket match is fixed. Ppl stop wasting u r time.

well kamran, i think team is going no where and will go no where from here. according to buzz spread around the pitches in west indies may not be traditional ones which they(pcb) are thinking that those would be. newly laid pitches may be uneven or bouncy like south africa and australia and in that case only teams which can rapidly change their strategies and immidietly act upon those will have a chance to win the games and world cup.
And i am stunned by thinking that what a team without method, plan or any sort of basic strategies will do out there.

every cricket match is fixed. Ppl stop wasting u r time.

Kamran, this has been a bad patch for Team Pakistan. There are so many factors, both domestically within Pak cricket bureaucracy and individually in terms of fitness, mental fatigue, etc. that we as fans will never be fully aware of. Each player has his ups and downs. Imagine the pressure the team feels knowing that 166 million people are counting on them to win. We as fans can be fickle. Not every series can be won. Nor can every ball be wicket worthy. A batsman cannot make a ‘4’ or ‘6’ on every ball. For a change, let’s give them a break. Instead, we as fans should give them a chance to surprise us. Anything can happen between now and the world cup. Let’s watch the game for what it is. If we want them to win this badly, imagine how badly they want to win for us. On a lighter note, it would be completely out of character for us not to screw up on occasion. That’s what keeps the game interesting and our competitors guessing!

As Omer Maqsood said in our 60 years history we are only proud of one thing i.e 1992 World cup win.Cricket is the source of inspiration to 160 million people of Pakistan and even that is ruined by poor governance and revolves around few bunch of incapable inviduals.For the sake of people of Pakistan and for the sake of Pakistan cricket please listen to those inviduals i.e Imran khan , Miandad , Wasim , Waqar and list goes on and on ...... Stop playing with emotions of Pakistani people. I am gutted and dissappointed and request Mr.General P M to please hand over PCB to any past great player or judge who will organize a free election process like BCCI.Yeah its a time of democracy in cricket.

I believe Inzimam wants to develop a team which can bat at any position, since we have been having a persistent problem with the openers so if the regular openers or any other batsman is out of form than we can even have a tail ender like Asif or Rao Ifthikhar can open and so this will solve the opening problem for ever. I think that the existing behavior has prevented players like Salman But, Hassan Raza and likes to enter the Pakistani team and I should not hesitate to say that this DICTATOR like behavior of Inzimam is the main cause. I can guarantee that this very behavior is destroying our assets like Mohammad Asif, Shoib Malik, Salman But, Zulqarnain Haider, Daneish Kenaria, Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Yousuf, Asim Kamal and the list can go on and on.

We have no option left other than what we have right now at hand, lets get over with this World Cup since we can not get rid of Mr. WOLFMAR (Bob Woolmer) and Inzimam right now, since the stupid (excuse my language but what can I do these PCB officials which are on our payroll ready to spend money to have the whole PCB travel with the team where ever it goes) PCB officials don’t have the “balls” to fire this Wolmer before the World Cup since they have to pay penalty in order to break the contract, well I say hell with it and Fire him since if he was so good than we would have seen the difference I the team performance which has done nothing but deteriorated since he has came aboard.

As far as Inzimam is concerned, he is one of the few greatest batsmen Pakistan has had in history, but that does not make him an automatic successful captain, we also should ask him to step down as a captain and ask him to play the World Cup as a senior member of the team or if he is not willing than let him retire gracefully right now otherwise we know what is going to happen after the World Cup. He is not aggressive only by saying “Assalam Wa Alaikum, All thanks to Allah” on television is not going to cut anything, I don’t blame these players since I know the level of there educational back ground of most of them, we can not expect every team members to be Imran Khan, Ramiz / Waseem (Late) Raja, likes. I don’t understand what is he trying to prove that he is a Muslim and rest of the Pakistanis are not?

In the end I have been watching Javed Miandad recently on television and hearing his comments, I think he believes that he is going to be the next coach of the team, Javed Miandad as long as Mr. Saleem Altaf likes are in the PCB, you should forget about that, they have no interest in “”Pakistan”” they are power mongers and they do not value the interests of the country or the people of this country or their feelings and opinions.

I believe even this team has a potential to perform and prove at every level that they are not that bad if the reshuffling of the batsmen and the players stops right now, I am sure they can most certainly have the potential to be among the top 4 teams in this World Cup also.

Thanks and it is an open challenge for any of the PCB officials to come in front of the Pakistani people and answer all the questions and concerns.

Did they loose balls with the equipment as well?

Well I would say their unpredictability was expected from the beginning. I’m a non-pakistani but am a hard-core fan of Pakistan Cricket for their unpredictability. You cannot criticize them just for SA series... India were much worse than this. They lost all their one dayers and yet they have come back well and are serious contenders for the WC.
So I think Pak have the talent to bounce back and beat even AUS just as they can loose to even Bangladesh/Zim. So lets keep our figures crossed and play the waiting game.
Many ppl on this blog are criticizing the selectors for not giving a chance to Hameed, but then who should we drop. Mind you he’s a middle order batsman and cannot play as an opener with the new ball. We have enough middle order talent in Yoonus Yousuf and Inzi. What Pak need is a good solid opening bat. So I think the selectors are right by picking Hafeez for WC.
Javed helali – “A little bit of prayer always helps” “A whole night of "nafal" prayers is not what is needed”. Well I don’t agree with you. A sincere believer should always strive for the better. Also he should be content with whatever god has given.
Some had commented that Tableeghis want to control the team. I don’t know whats happening in Pak. But if that’s the case then even I don’t agree with it

I am not at all surprised with Pakistan's performance. What the heck is wrong with all of them. Why the heck is Naveed still playing, I really would like to kick him out of the team myself. Pakistan bowling, besides Asif, no one showed any character. Iftikhar showed much better performance than Naveed and Sami combined. What the heck is Mushtaq doing in the coaching staff. Is he telling them to put Gel in the hair before they bowl? Why does Pakistani board remove good coached like Younis when they were actually having an impact. I know Younis is no Wasim Akram but he is up there in the ranks and has a fast bowler's mind.

I am seriously pissed. We Pakistanis living outside Pakistan really have rare occasions where we can actually enjoy the cricket since it is always at night time. Knowing that the team is suffering with injuries, the management was completely set on the same players instead of trying different options. I hate this bloody politics. When is this regional discrimination against the player going to end and the talent is given a chance instead of favorites. I apologize for all this, but I am really pissed. I can not even face the Indians here with a straight face if my team, my country's team gives such a bad performance. Why is Inzi batting all the way down. Why the heck is Kamran Akmal opening when he cannot play good fast bowlers. Why isn't Shoaib Malik opening? Why the heck is Yasir Hameed not in the team and the WC squad. Where is Asim Kamal? Why wasn't Kaneria given match practise in SA before putting him directly in the WC squad. Anyone sensible would have chosen this squad for the last game.
Openers: Malik and Nazir
Middle Order: Younis, Yousuf and Inzi
All-rounders: Zulqarnain (give man a chance), Razzaq
Bowlers: Choose any one but Naveed - Asif, Anjum, Mahmood, Rehman (since we seem to be running out of bowlers)

I hate bloody politics that is letting out image down.

Hi Im brajesh from India---- even though I may want your team not to do well against India----- Its obvious isnt it ---- but do believe me i felt bad when inzy and his boys caved in to the proteas ---------- our guys need to get united so that atleast one of our teams gets to the semis if not the finals

Relax guys, we all know that our record against south africa is not good even in thoes days when greats like wasim, waqar & Miandad were playing. We should remeber how we lost test & one day series on our home ground when bob woolmer was coach of south africa. i beleive we are in better position under woolmer & Inzi, we should remeber how we lost test series against india in our home ground and the way we were humiliated in multan i beleive there is some progress after that although we expected more, we are better that india & srilanka as we have beaten them on their home grounds so i can give pakistan a chance to be in semifinals but for me one of the teams in finals will be South Africa any guess!!!

Dear Kamran,
Whilst their could hardly be anyone out their who do not agree with you or the general feeling being expressed of dissatisfaction, incompetence etc etc. I am from India, looking at our(INDIA) batting lineup and their failures in SA and compared this with Pakistan, I see more positives for Pakistan. To begin with Imran Nazir looked at his best only someone need to drill in his brain some wisdom, Asif by far the most dreadful bowler I have seen after the famous 2W's, Yousuf and Younis and not to mention Malik all looked solid. If a bowler of Pollocks caliber and his good form aided and abetted by some very healthy environment provided on ground by umpires and outside by match referee, IMHO hardly anybody could do. This is primary reason modern coach focuses not only on physical fitness but mental too. Unfortunately pakistan suffered too many casualties on the tour mental (read afridi) and physical (read injuries). Remove these which I am quite hopefull would heal with passage of time, Pakistan is and would be a force to reckon with in WC 2007. This is my instinct feeling. Good luck inzy and company

We certainly are embrassed the way Pakistani Cricket team played. How can we hope for better in a month's time when the selection of the natinal team is so tricky that Imran nazir is picked, on the basis of just an innings. (in how many years?). Second is the selection of danish keneria (dont remember when he last played an ODI for Pakistan). After selection, the dope test and the injuries list which seems never ending. lets hope for the best.

Folks! The problem is very serious.
Our players are not natural athletes nor competitive – and it shows.
It’s very similar to how some of the Aussie players are not naturally talented – but they make it up by their professional attitude towards training and fitness. And the whole lot looks athletic and that intimidates opposition – (that & off course sledging).
I believe professionalism is what is lacking in our players and in fact in our cricket board. If we counter this than we will not witness 1- players arguing with coach & captain on live television, 2- their fragile fitness status, 3- lack of commitment, among so many other problems. The fact that there is total lack of commitment towards maintaining fitness which should be a major responsibility of the individual. The attitude should be that they are paid to do a job, not to mention all the other perks and they should really look at it as a JOB.
I am also very sad that the tenure of Bob Woolmer is coming to an end with team’s current position because honestly there are better memories we can all take away from his time with Pakistan – Indian tour, success in Pakistan against South Africa & West Indies to name the few.
And I am now wondering who would the next choice for this job would be – frankly I would hate to see a Pakistani coach because he would bring his political baggage with him and try & push his agenda – (Javed Miandad!!! Ring a bell – anybody) and Mr. Miandad is already very active in the press to draw as much attention as possible.

Moahmmed Yousuf was probably the only positive that cam out of this tour. He carried on his good form last year and was the loneranger for Pakistan. Sending Kamran Akmal opening 5 matches straight was definately not the soultion. Also the inclusion of a certain Rana Naved for all 5 matches was dismal. His fugures were embarassing.

Prior to the commencement of the series, Younis Khan had boasted that Pakistan had the best attack in the world and that they would not perform as badly as India did against SA. However, he was made to eat humble pie as Pakistan played pathetically, especially in the tests. Save for Yousouf and Md Asif, the entire team was an embarrasment.

FIRSTLY i would like to say that i am a Proud pakistani but i am absolutely disgusted with the national teams performances. this would be my world cup 15 players
Salman butt, yasir hameed, younis khan, shoaib malik, asim kamal, mohammed yousuf, moin khan(for experience and he is a great batsman), abdur razzaq, shahid afridi, mohammed asif, umar gul, shoaib akhtar, danesh kaneria, zulqarnain haider,azhar mahmood.

this team would be fantastic if everybody was fully fit and there were no injuries. i would have salman butt and asim kamal opening,then shoaib malik, younis khan, yousuf, moin khan, afridi, razzaq, mahmood, asif, akhtar. this 11 has 6 bowlers who are all wicket takers.
INZI SHOULD BE LEFT OUT OF THE WORLD CUP AND YOUNIS KHAN SHOULD CAPTAIN!INZI IS PAST HIS BEST.

I'm a South African and obvious very glad and "chuffed" that RSA won the series, but guys Pakistan wil stand up again its just the nature of any team to lift himself up again. Trust me we were there too remember, we lost 12 matches in a row beating only Bangladesh in between and look what happened we won 20 matches in a row. If I could make a suggestion to the Pakistan team selection panel or board or whoever is in charge, there is too many changes in the side not only team selection but batting order, Kamran Akmal is hopeless up front (gift wicket!) Imran Nazir should start playing deliveries on their merit (gift wicket) Inzi has to bat at no.3 Yousuf at no.4 and my favourite (Kahn) at nr.5 Akmal nr.6 Razzaq nr.7 Mahmood nr.8 (where was he last night?????) Keep on opening with Nazir and Hafeez but teach them to play each ball on merit. I will be watching the Paki's during the WC I believe that you to great and proud nation to play the cricket you showed us here in SA, Good luck and God Bless.

geeze, relax guys. this is classic pakistani preparation. by the opening game of the wc, all else will be forgotten.

this is the worst you've felt before a wc, kamran? come on yaar. in '92 we were a shambles, wicky waqar was injured, we got thrashed by the windies in the opening game and bowled out for 70-odd by england. but it's all about peaking at the right time. we've got our hopeless performances out of the way in some pointless warm-up matches, that's a cause for relief in my book.

and euceph ahmed - i think you need to see a doctor my friend: i think you may be clinically depressed. have you ever taken any joy out of pakistani cricket? do you not appreciate that under inzy we have won test series against new zealand, india, england, sri lanka and windies? and the recent odi series was really a blip and we are actually a pretty successful odi team - the recent series was between the 2nd and 3rd ranked teams in the world. if pakistani cricket history teaches you anything, it is this: we are are at most dangerous when wounded and written off (by the likes of euceph ahmed).

What a Team, there is just one player in the Team and that is M Yousaf, else either are not fit or too old or doest support the poistion they are playing, Younis is a Virtual Opener, Openers are window Shoppers, Inzi is getting Old, Kamran has made pakistan to loose many a matches, RAZAQ is bowling dead, Malik is no more all rounder, he is no good with ball, RANA is too much expensive, Asif is tired or may be banned, Shoaib is an issue, GUL is injury. Shabbir unfit. Afridi no Gurantee. What do we expect from WORLD CUP. i dnont know, but what i know is that many a players will be sacked after it and still would be able to play in the Next World Cup. Surprised, if you, then dont be, its Pakistan, because here the talent like Shahid Nazir and Ysir Hameed,Saleem Elahi are wasted from Years and in Future will be. In a Team we need a Fight for Place but in this Team Everey one his his Place reserved until Higher Management throw them out, to me its a time for Most of Players to Leave or should take their Game Seroiusly

I will cut it very short, we should not blame any body except PCB, they are bunch of jokers, when you have unprofessionls handling your cricket affairs then these sort of issues will be there forever. All PCB offical's will continue to strees on " so bent upon the same position" always. They can not change their attitude nor they can select new players, For God Sake how long do we have to see, Imran,Farhat,Hafeez,Salmam, tawfeeq, they are tried and failed option's and can some one make me understand that we do not have any other players left in Pakistna ???????

I am not embarrassed, coz i know Pakistan at best a mediocre team has lost against a top class South African outfit. This was expected, no surprised here.

I was going through all the messages that are posted here and could help smirking at the number of times you have compared yourself with the Indian team. Many of you have mentioned that pakistan has fared better than India just becoz they won 1 ODI .. lol .. if you see the compare the Indian tour - we have more victories than pakistan and more matches were closely fought than what is shown by the results. India won a test match, tour game and the 20-20 game. Whats more? .. we didnt lose so pathetically w/o a semblence of a fight. Pls dont try to compare India-Pakistan here :-) Man to Man, India is a far far .. far better team than Pak and as unpredictable as pak. So plz dont talk abt Pak being a really unpredictable team .. lol.

Boy! im sure you guys really want to ape India in everything .. right from the TV soaps/movies/art to sports to economy to culture to mindset :-)

chill out ppl.. you be as good as India is today in another 25-30 years .. Inshallah!

As an indian RAJPUT, i m a true cricket fan,and i used to watch cricket in any sence,I can't understand why pakistan is not going with Afridi as an opener in every game,and Akhatar as front line fast bowler.Just let him play their natural game.Just tell the Afridi that this is a 20-20 game for u,go their and play only your 20 over that's all.just tell Akhatar that you have to ball only either more than 150km/hour or less than 120 Km/hour.And yes i can't understand what is Rana is doing in the team,even i can hit 6 sixes in an over on him the way his body language is looking.

I think that this bunch will bring further shame to the country next month. No, I am not against anyone; I am just talking facts here. I have been with them; NOBODY wants to learn and do well. Everyone is well-off now and now whatever they are earning from here is Bonus for them. Inzama has no quality of a leader; but he is the leader at the moment; Now you all can very well guess where he will lead this team to.

Anyway.. Gone the days when we used to rule the world of cricket; Gone the days when there was someone in the team who can be counted on to bring victory to Pak if he is on the crease; Gone the days when Captaincy was not somthing to be given to some low quality batsman; poor fielder and a person who can't even express himself or the point of view of his team at the Prize Ceremonies.

I think we will have good matches with Ireland and Zimbabwe. We must try to put up a good show against them.

Bye Bye Pakistan Cricket. Thanks Miandad, Imran, Qadir, Wasim, Waqar for giving us joy over the years.

As they say.. every good thing has to come to an end.. So No running aways from the reality.

An unpredictable team needs a do-or-die spirit. The only day that will come is when Shahid Afridi takes over as captain.....SOON. InshaAllah. You need a real Pakhtoon who can 'poke' them in their faces!!!!!! Younis Khan is from Mardan...who calls them Pakhtoon anyways!!!

Salaam All, I do really hope that Pakistan get Salaam All, I do really hope that Pakistan get knocked out really early in the World Cup so lat least I can enjoy watching the rest of the tournament.
The pain of watching absolutely crap players and not working during the painful 2 months of the tournament is toooooo much to bear. Apart from Yousuf (Bhai) I can’t think of a single player that would make the Australian or South African side and even he would have to be more professional in his approach.
I really would like to know who thinks that Rana Naved is a professional cricketer he would even make our club side.
Razzaq should even be allowed in the same room as true Cricketer, Can anyone tell that last time he played a major role in a Pakistani Win. I hate to say this why is Younis Khan batting at no 3, Please have look around the world No 3.s against Mr Khan, He has got one century against some dodgy competition against a dodgy opposition and he is still batting at No 3 (The most vital position in the team).
The team lack basic cricketing knowledge (running between the wickets, fielding, batting for 50 overs) so please Pakistani player play crap and get knocked out even in the early stages of the competition.
And Finally I hate to say this even more “Com on INDIAAAAAAAAAAA…”I think I going to be sick…..

history reapet itself, recall last tour to sa, pak lost the first match, record win for pak in the second (thanks to Razzak and salim elahi) and then lost the other three.

what is the most worring is that in 2004-05 pak play as a team they develop a never say die attitude. but from the home series against india (odi) they again look as team who heavily depend on indivials. when their big guns not perform they lost and when they do the win.

i hope the performance of 2003 world cup was not reapted and team again develop the correlation amoung themselve and play like a fighting unit rather then few outstanding indivials

Embarrassed is not strong enough for what I feel. We had a captain who was never a leader but was a rock solid batsman. He can no longer bat either. The bowlers can no longer bowl, the keeper can neither keep nor bat and nobody at all can field.Why do we bother playing. Send them all to a madressah I say where they can spend their remaining days in worship and meditation. They certainly have no commitment to competetive cricket.

Pakistani cricketers just cannot handle pressure. In 80s they were the bunnies of Windies. From 90s till date they've been scorned by Aussies and SA. They should be labelled as true "CHOKERS". Our poor batsman are used to playing from the crease and slashing at balls on low bounce pitches. Though I hate Kallis but the way he played Rao jumping out and meeting the ball before it swung and hitting it for six and then continued to hit boundaries was exemplary. This is how you play in conditions which favor the bowlers. Our cowardly batsmen should take a leaf out of Kallis's or Ponting's book.

They are a bunch of prideless, unskillful and distinct players. I love Shahid Afridi because he gives it 100% with his limited skills, atleast it looks that he has some pride (a true Patriot).

I just pray that we do not face Aussies and/or SA in the WC, only then I see them winning it otherwise... only God knows.

Sarah Shah this platform is not the place to vent your anger at the Islamists

Dear Kamran,

Whenever a team loses, its coach, captain in particular and the whole team in general comes under severe criticism. Positive criticism is a good thing but unfortunately that is not the case. Australians were criticized for losing the Ashes and now they are on top again. Shaun Pollock was written of after Sri Lankan tour and listen to the experts on TV and he is a master & & & & & & & &. Yesterday, some former cricketers were commenting on TV and one of them was criticizing inclusion of Imran Nazir based on his performance in the last 10 matches. The expert, however, forget that a few months ago people were criticizing his exclusion based on his domestic form. He plays a good inning again and these very ‘EXPERTS’ will be saying that he is & & & & && &. I mean its criticism all the time if you lose and generally insane (You can go through the comments on this Blog to testify my statement).

Now then, it is a fact that all the Asian teams have found the bouncy pitches too hot to handle. Just before Pakistan, India’s star studded line up failed very badly against South Africa. Neither of the past teams of Pakistan has faired better than this team in S. Africa even though they enjoyed services of Anwar/Sohail as openers (A problem area always), 2 Ws + Shoaib & Saqlain fully fit and at their prime, still they lost humiliatingly. This team could so easily have been the winner of the test series and very close in the ODIs had there been a fit bowling department.

The team selected for world cup is a good one (if fit) and has the ability to win the trophy. What we, the critics, have to do is to come out with positive criticism aimed at betterment of the team. HOPE MY COMMENTS WON’T FELL ON THE DEAF EARS.

The players we have are not that bad when it comes to cricketing skills, I'm sure no one will debate that. But the other skills that are required to deliver a good performance, such as mental strength, physical conditioning, sticking to game plans, planning, etc. are awfully lacking. Its too late to bridge the gap before the world cup, so we have to accept that Pakistan will play inconsistently during the cup and most likely not progress past the super 8. But for GOD's sake can we have PCB and team management address the wider skills required to be a good sportsman (not exlcusively in cricket), so that in future we can perform like the Aussies? WC 2007 is a write off for Pakistan Im afraid. Come on guys, face the facts now, and save yourself the heartache in the future.

You guys are enjoying on tax payers money how about returning some of it by winning! GOD! sending injured and half fit players to SA .. its simply mind boggling ...! bunch of lunatics including all of us becuase we keep hoping!

I was going through all the messages that are posted here and could help smirking at the number of times you have compared yourself with the Indian team. Many of you have mentioned that pakistan has fared better than India just becoz they won 1 ODI .. lol .. if you see the compare the Indian tour - we have more victories than pakistan and more matches were closely fought than what is shown by the results. India won a test match, tour game and the 20-20 game. Whats more? .. we didnt lose so pathetically w/o a semblence of a fight. Pls dont try to compare India-Pakistan here :-) Man to Man, India is a far far .. far better team than Pak and as unpredictable as pak. So plz dont talk abt Pak being a really unpredictable team .. lol.

Boy! im sure you guys really want to ape India in everything .. right from the TV soaps/movies/art to sports to economy to culture to mindset :-)

chill out ppl.. you be as good as India is today in another 25-30 years .. Inshallah!

i have been watching pakisatni cricket for about 8 years. in those 8 years i have never seen a cricket board so lazy!!!. they do not care about how the team plays if they are providing them with enough facilites enough coaching and enough training. what is the pakistani cricket board bunch of LAZY RETIRED men who are very good at critising a problem but not good at solving it.
they say we want pakistan to be the best team in the world have they done enough for the team to do that. are there enough cricket academys in pakistan to fuel this massive potential out in the streets, playing tape ball cricket.
i also want to talk about the domestic league in pakistan it is in shambles. people are playing with another cricket bowl in domestic cricket were they get used to it as soon as they get into international cricket they play witha kokobaro ball in pakistan and its totally different to them. there isnt enough money in domestic cricket there grounds are nothing to play on. when u look at a domestic league satduim field you dont want to dive on it becuase u know u will get cut so as soon as they play international cricket they havnt got the ability to dive and field well.
then we come on to the batting opner problem. why isnt imran farhat anf mohammed haffez opening together. i think they rae good enough as regulars in the team just becuase imran farhat had a bad tour u cnt send him back. he has been preforming in the last couple of series. south africa tour is hard.
then mr bob and shoib akthar. it is blitant that bob dosnt like shoiab and he dosnt want him in the team. shoiab is still pakistan best bowler and he should be bowling the 1st over of pakistani bowling innings on the 13th of march gainst west indies. there is no injury he dosnt want him to play!!!! bob please he is the best bowler pakistan has got
inzi as a captain is not up to the mark. he has got the determanation to win the wc.he wouldnt shout at a fielder if he puts a catch down hell just watch and cary on. he needs to go after the world cup and then we need a young captain wo has the courage to tell of some 1 when thet are wrong. i would like to see shaid afradi as a captain i think he has heart he has heart like imran khan.
i know we wont do well theis wc becuase of our fielding and the baility to crumble under preasure. we need afridi back in furm and we need both asif nad akthar on the pitch. our team needs to relise there roles as individuals look into there own individual performance.
and 1 more thing why is afridi been bannned for 4 matches. so icc thinks it is ok for a person to be racsist to a player n if a player pretends to hit a fan to shut him up. u get a ban. this is absolutley disgraceful and icc needs to look into this. if i was in afridi n a fan was being racsit to my counrty and my skin colour ooo i would have not pretend to hit him wiv the bat i wuld have hit him, i would have.

It's so unbelievable how some people have reacted to Pakistan's loss. I know they have played bad, but you still have to support them. It really wasn't that easy to beat SA in SA. Also, you must take into account the recent form of Sa and the injuries in Pakistan.

When Pakistan start winning, we are always behind everything we do, we think that Inzmam and Woolmer are geniuses, but when they lose just one series, we critisize them like there is no end.

I dont disagree that their recent form has been bad, but they always make it count when it counts. So please... don't lose hope in your team and in your captain. And hopefully Pakistan will win the world cup. (Inshallah)

I am an Indian but a big fan of Pak cricket. I have been following the Pak cricket for the last three to four decades. I am also a big fan of great Pak cricketers such as Imran, Sarfraz, Asif Iqbal, Zaheer Abbas, Abdul Quadir, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waquar Younus and Inzamam ul Haq and even Shohaib Akhtar. While in a contest between India and Pakistan, I would like India to win, that will in now way dampen my admiration for the outstanding Pak cricket spirit, which enables it to pull of miracles even at the times of extreme adversities. It is really pathetic to see so many Pak fans pour their heart out in this blog. The main problem appears to be politics within Pak cricket establishment. Otherwise, how can you understand Pak Cricket Board not taking actions against the player who have made a habit of being unfit and indisciplined. How can you explain Shohaib caring two hoots about his teammates, captain, manager, team and above all his fans and his country. He knows that he has been getting away with murder in past and will get away in future also.
Although Indian cricket is also highly politicized but at least there is some kind of lid over the indiscipline. No player - not even Sachin - is permitted to think that he is bigger than the team. Therefore, India even with much lesser depth of talent than Pak has been able to do slightly better than Pakistan.

I am not writing all this to get pleasure out of the situation in which Pak cricket finds itself today. I am an admirer of Pak cricket and feel for its cricket fans who are being given such a raw deal by Pak cricket Board and its cricketers.
I will end my comment with the hope that Pakistan, like again and again in past, will prove me and the others wrong and come back in glory from the Caribbeans.

This series performance has been a joke. I have never seen an international team be so toothless. There is no fight or character in the team.

Barry Richards on sky summed us up perfectly where he basically said that there is two types of Pakistan, either brilliant (like 2nd ODI) or hopelessly poor. Any other team would have batted the overs out after loosing early wickets and scored 230+ but we just bowl ourselves out with rash shots and poor technique.

Our WC squad is worst I have seen since i've been watching from 1992. Players like Hafeez, Nazir, Akmal, Rana are Sunday league players at best. We are the worst fielding team in any form of cricket, its a joke.

Lets just hope after being embarassed and slated and now that nobody fancies us for the WC we could do a England (in Aus) and get through the back door with nothing to lose.

One recommendation is to play Younis Khan as opener and take Hafeez out of squad and bring in a proper batsmen, possibly Yasir Hameed.

What is the criteria of selection for WC? Obviously to be yes-men of inzamam. Every one knows that M. Hafeez, Rana Naveed and Rao Iftikhar are entirely out of form and would need next 4 years to be considered as international players. Imran farhat has better average than m. hafiz. Even shoaib malik is a better opener. Similarly, Shabbir ahmad is far better than rao iftikhar and rana naveed. The bowler who can produce good height at a better line would certainly be more effective. Bizarre policies look to be going all around. Knwoing that Azhar mehmood is fit and performing well, his name was first rejected and now included in the squad of 30 players. Rao Iftikhar is selected in worldcup without having played any international match for a long period. And before this his best figures are 2 wickets.
One should recommend player profile information on this site to help pakistan selection committeet to stop them from making ridiculous decisions.

I agree with all the comments below. I think the perfect solution would be to change the whole team. Get a new vibe about whereby the complacency is destroyed.

I used to love watching Afridi but now I have given up hope. Is this a professional world squad or a social get together for the boys where by they get enjoyment of failing?

If you look at Gilchrist, Boucher, Kemp, Dhoni, Yuvraj and so on....they all have purpose. Don't get me wrong, there are times where they fail but at least it's the effort that is made to continously improve on technique.

Does Afridi care? Does Pakistan care? Do they know what thier million of die hard supporters think of them? Is there anybody in the PCB that has the leadership ability to change things round? After the SA series, I don't think so. I want to hope so but too many times those hopes are shattered.

I guess the positive is that things can't get any worse! Pakistan are in a bad patch at the moment, poor form in all aspects of the game plust injuries to key players that magnify their troubles. They can certainly learn from the South Africa series, just as Australia will from thrie defeat at he hands of England, but Pakistan need to remember that on the first day of the World Cup 2007, all teams will start equal. An opening match win against West Indies will I'm sure have all Pakistani fans singing the teams praises! I am nonetheless extremely worried and baffled about the inclusion of Rana Naved in the 15 man squad. Let's just hope his services (or lack of them) will not be required during the World Cup, and if they are, that he shows vast improvement in his bowling.

We have one month before the World Cup - one month to pray day and night!!

Well I would say their unpredictability was expected from the beginning. I’m a non-pakistani but am a hard-core fan of Pakistan Cricket for their unpredictability. You cannot criticize them just for SA series... India were much worse than this. They lost all their one dayers and yet they have come back well and are serious contenders for the WC.
So I think Pak have the talent to bounce back and beat even AUS just as they can loose to even Bangladesh/Zim. So lets keep our figures crossed and play the waiting game.
Many ppl on this blog are criticizing the selectors for not giving a chance to Hameed, but then who should we drop. Mind you he’s a middle order batsman and cannot play as an opener with the new ball. We have enough middle order talent in Yoonus Yousuf and Inzi. What Pak need is a good solid opening bat. So I think the selectors are right by picking Hafeez for WC.
Javed helali – “A little bit of prayer always helps” “A whole night of "nafal" prayers is not what is needed”. Well I don’t agree with you. A sincere believer should always strive for the better. Also he should be content with whatever god has given.
Some had commented that Tableeghis want to control the team. I don’t know whats happening in Pak. But if that’s the case then even I don’t agree with it

The recently concluded tour of South Africa should be an eye opener for the people at the helm of affairs of Pakistani cricket. As a Kashmiri first and then as a cricket lover, my suggestion is to involve people like Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Zaheer Abas and Waqar Unis etc and not favour cricketers like Mushtaq Ahmad & Co. Mushtaq Ahmad being a spinner can never be aggresive in his approach.He should,in fact, better spend more time on Tableeg. Pakistan is fortunate enough to have coach like Bob Woolmer but Mr. Woolmer is having some problems with M/S Shoiab Akhtar and Co. Who is correct God knows. pakistani Cricket Board should forget the recent performance of their team. The all focus must be on the players fitness. I believe that fitness problems with many a Star players proved to be the downfall of the team in south Africa.The pitches in W.Indies are more or less same as are available in sub-continent where the bowlers have to concentrate hard on line and length and that is only possible if your players are fit enough.
Do'nt let the people of your country down by bringing politics in the game.

I really really can't understand the strategies of Pakistan Board, Selectors and the players themselves. The very body language of the players show how much they are committed to the game. There are batsmen such as Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal,Imran Nazeer, Hafeez and Yunus Khan, who do not seem to be there to bat and the bowlers such Rana Naved and Mohammed Sami, who just try to show they cannot be hit and in agony they just keep bowling to keep up their personalities instead of keeping in view the target of the other team, they just try to bowl fast and in the process loose the whole match. There are some players who really need to be eliminated since their body language is not understandable, such as Inzamam himself and Abdul Razzaq, they are just giving up thing without trying them at all.

The above are the reasons mainly held responsible for loosing this series so badly and

I HUMBLY APPEAL MR. KAMRAN ABBASI TO TAKE THE ABOVE MESSAGE TO THE BOARD, THE SELECTORS AND THE COACH TO DO THE NEEDFUL AND TO RENEW THE TEAM.

THANK YOU IN ANTICIPATION.

AOA

i have read some of the blogs and i have noticed people are writing against Tabligh and Jamaat. as far as i know Tabligh and Jamaat is their personal life leave their personal life and that is the matter between ALLAH TAllah and them dont say word against it

i am also a very very keen follower of pakistani team i am also sad but we have to do positive criticism we do criticism for criticism which would not help our team Inshallah our team will do well in World Cup they have to analyze where they went wrong.

we cannot have many changes at this moment but what we can do bes is that our team has to have guidance from the legendary captain Imran Khan he is the perfect man who can guide our team out of shambles they have to listen him what ever the resources we have we have to fight with that arsenal thats the only way we can go forward and please do positive criticism and leave the personal life's of the players do not comment on it

ALLAH HAFIZ

This performance just woke me from the deep sleep and the sweat dream i was having of wining the world cup. In the last two matches it was not our bowling but our batting which let us down. Even if shoaib comes ... not much will change. I said earlier that pakistan will not make to semis now i have doubt for super 8. They were playing worse than kenya and bangladesh. For me world cup is all over

well it is really shocking to hear all ur comments. Pakistan is a world class team with many match winners when ever they lose u all critisize them and when they win u praise them u all should know that any team cant win every match last year SA lost 15 matches in a row.well it is really very easy to sit and critisize and it is really very hard to play and being a pakistani i am proud of my team even they have lost.hats off to pakistani team

With this selection, I don’t know why we are discussing our prospects of winning the world cup. With the Bunch of individuals named to represent our country (There acts have forced me not to call it a team) it would be a wonder even if we beat all the teams in Group D with matches against West Indies, Zimbabwe, Canada and Ireland? Suppose your answer is “Yes” we can, then allow me to confess that the selectors may have selected the right team to take the 1st position is the Group D. But beyond that I have my doubts that the selectors even thought of that.
Be honest to your self, can they even take the 1st Position? Personally I’m of the view that being second would be difficult with Zimbabwe and Ireland doing good now days.

Come on Kamran, is it justifiable to discuss if we be able to qualify for the best 8’s. I mean you should ask for comments but not impossible things.

the big players - inzi (4), yousaf (3) and younis (2) need to bat at the top of the order and stop sending hafeez and akmal or malik as openers because they are not!

i think that is the root of the problem. we lose a wkt and then two or three because our openers can't put a stand up. then the big three always are up against it.

in 1992 we had imran and javaid that protected the big hitters for the late onslaught and that's the only way we can play in this W Cup.

somebody tell inzi and bob please....

The biggest problem this team is facing at present is the fear of defeat & failure. And this is the time when the role of the captain is critical but unfortunately inzi himself is fearing of failure, which has been proved in 5th ODI by pushing himself to No6. When polluck was
bowling well, he opted to sacrifice kamran akmal rather then to take the team through difficult time himself.
I feel all the pakistani cricket followers think that inzi is under rated as a batsman as compared to sachin, lara & ponting,but when u see such a defensive approach & unability to put yourself forward in testing conditions, I feel he is rightly under rated. He is vulnerable to swing bowling since his early days but you expect someone like him with such experience to put his hand up, to show the way to rest. I am not saying that he should open or try to play like afridi but just imagine what effect it can have on the younger players when they see their primeier batsman who is also the captain with such depleted mindset?

I strongly believe that the fear of defeat & failure was the key to losing this series.

Disgusted….want to bury myself under tons and tons of sand!!! Wasn’t it favoritism? How the hell can we go on playing Rana? Why Sami in test matches? Why persist with Hafeez? Has anybody ever noticed that Hafeez has one of the worst batting techniques ever possessed by any Pakistani opener? How did we manage to keep Yasir Hameed out of the ODI side despite his last 4 ODIs performance, which is better than anybody? Is Akmal a necessity for us?? The fact is that, the spirit of winning might still be there, but with such depleted squad we must not hope to win and we did not win rightly so.

Come on all you fickle Pakistani fans!!! Your tunes will have changed when we get to the flat tracks of the Caribbean and we have our first line bowling attack back - we've got as good a chance of winning the World Cup as anyone else.

Lets get behind the boys - COME ON PAKISTAN!!!!!

My pakistani brothers, i gave up on pakistani cricket long time ago, it became to frustrating, embarrasing, and time wasting. I use to look forward to watch pakistan play, I could stay awake whole night to watch pakistan play, I use to take time of work to watch pakistan play, but i realised few years back it was pointless so i dont bother anymore, i just browse through score cards now and then and dont follow it anymore, the more i read from other pakistani brothers on here, the more happy i am i dont waste my time following pakistan cricket team anymore...

I would like to point out that Pakistan in their history have lacked consistency and stability, and that's what Inzamam and Woolmer have given Pakistan. And that's the reason why they have been a competitive team for about two years now (after the Aus series), despite severe injury related and other distractions. Both their method is "not to make too many changes", i.e. sticking with Rana and Akmal for the WC. Another example is that Inzamam also prefers to keep same field/bowling when Pak get a couple of quick wickets, instead of attacking like most captains do these days, by bringing in the best bowler with attacking field.

I can understand that, and it has worked in a way. But now its time to sacrifice a bit of this monotony and introduce a bit of creativity and fresh ideas.

Short term:

- Younis should be made to open in ODI. Younis is probably the most solid batsman in the team and has good experience of playing the new ball. Also, if he comes in late, he sturuggles a bit since he cannot score very fast. If he opens he has a good chance of using his pull shot since the field is up.

- Yousuf at 3 and Inzi at 4. They should come in before its too late i.e. in the 2nd last ODI when Inzi ran out of partners!!

- Kaneria should be given in the chance in all the matches in the first round. This is definately a gamble but if he impresses he should be gambled with in the next round. I know he is no Mushtaq/Qadir based on his past performance, but he may turn out to be like that if given proper chance.

- Rao should be introduced in the playing 11, he rarely bowls wayward like Rana, and was generating decent pace yesterday. He impressed alot yesterday.

- Salman Butt should be brought in if we get a new player due to injury, I know its wishful thinking. Its just my personal choice, but I am confident that he is the most capable of playing a winning innings for Pakistan among all the openers tried in the last two years.

Long term:

- Pakistan must try a second keeper, maybe even third for extended periods (like a ODI series or a 3 match test series), to keep a backup, give Akmal some time to regroup, and tell Akmal that he is not indispensable.

- Pakistan must hire a full time fitness expert and PCB chairman should announce that making the team fit is the first priority. And no one should be beyond it, even the captain has to run the laps and do push-ups. I think this is the single most important long term issue facing Pakistan, since otherwise we may as well forget about competing in ODI

- Hire an expert fielding coach, perahps Jonty rhodes is already hired and is too expensive. But fielding is not rocket science and there is plenty of good fielders from the past who can help out. Maybe Logie, or Roger Harper. In any case if we improve fitness levels, in the point above, fielding will automatically improve.

- Have atleast 6 players who play in ODI or tests exclusively. This is imperative. I think some teams are already doing it somewhat, but the team that does it properly first, will eventually succeed.

- Domestic cricket structure is something that people have already talked about too much, but it cannot be ignored. Make it like American professional sports. I have spent a long time in N America, and their structure impressed me so much, but discussin details and how a similar structure will help pakistan will take many pages.

This is a shame indeed,im going to start following Aus. from now on,their cricket is exciting,planned out and shows great commitment.Inzimam might have the captaincy due to his seniority,but this isnt 2004,he has done next to nothing this past year,then why give him the captaincy?For his size and batting aggression,he doesnt have any offensive tricks up his sleeves when it comes to captaincy,he is the least charasmatic captain Pakitan has seen,so maybe we should stop praising him.And what is with stalking the whole team with tableeghis.DID WE FORGET THE MATCH FIXING REPORT,THE Judge involved clearly stated that MUSHTAQ AHMED should not be given any position of authority.So now he grows a beard and joins the tableehg,and he is good enough to replace WAQAR(who was doing an excellent job).Explain the logic of having a leg spinner as your bowling coach when u have 4 pacers in your attack?its incomprehensible.PCB should take some action.I liked inzimam as a batsmen,but we love our team and country more than any individual,and players earn respect,so if he does not have the decency to earn it,we dont have to offer it.Its still not too late to put Younis on top,no matter what,he cant do worse than inzi.The team respects him just as much,he is in good form and is very aggressive.
And whats the love with kamran akmal?Didnt they say they were going to rest him and give someone else a chance?He is a worthless keeper,who admitted himself that he only put on the gloves when he realized that he would not get a chance as a batsman.Well, we can see that and he isnt good at anything really.I warn people that a bad keeper can bring down the whole team,a couple of missed chances by a keeper can affect the fielding and destroy the concentration of a bowler.
And i dont even know where to begin with about Rana Naveed.People are mentioning 6 matches,but if memory serves me correctly,he hasnt done anything in the last 1.5 yrs except that 4 wicket haul against the windies,which included maybe 2 frontline and 2 tailend batsmen,no amazing feat.If No one else,Nazir deserved a chance,he might not be the most attacking bowler,but he wont go for runs like rana or sami.Rao has no talent,his bowling is very unidimensional,flat and predictable.Nazir has experience and hunger.I am also appauld that Muhammad Wasim wasnt tried when we were so desparately looking for an opener.he has been playing domestic and seems to be in good form.And as far as i remember,he is a SOLID opener,something we seem to be lacking.Bob Woolmer was also a wasted investment.We have been winning all those series on dead pitches and due to our immense bowling talent,who due to over burdening are now injured and tired.The bowlers can undo the damage of their batsmen only so many times.Woolmer seems to be as lazy as inzmam,if inzimam is a crappy captain,woolmer should act like a coach and tell him how its done.Look at Greg Chappel,he was not intimidated by Ganguly,now look at the result?Ganguly is more hungry and the whole team knows they can get the boot.
The only shot we have is,our three strike bowlers recover,inzimam gets a good lecturing from the board,and younis is given more control on the field,so we can somehow minimize the lazy attitude of inzimam,and tell imran nazir not to try to hit everything.It seems like either he himself or the team coach/captain tell him to blast everything.He should rotate the strike and be a bit more selective.I feel that he can play big innings,he just needs to be more selective.Now that only leaves the issue of finding him an opening partner,even after 3 years,we are back to square one.

Well! What should I write about the team. The TEAM needs inspiration. Somebody has to inspire them boys. I would say, put aside this WC, because we are done already with this one. Prepare a TEAM of all time. Inzi is done playing after WC, so is RANA, Afridi. Make two teams one for TESTS, one for ODI's. PCB can make the selection of players. as far as fitness is concerned, Army is ruling the country, why not give players to the army. they will make tough. Criticize the players, management, coach, captain whoever you want. All I know, players need to undergo a serious hard training program so they can be metally tough and mature to compete any team in the world. These 15 players are chosen to represent the PAKISTAN. They have to be exceptionally super fit. All i can say, Kakool acedemy is the best place for the plaeyrs to get into shape. after that cement pitches and tapeball for the practice.

what is beyound me is, why isn't Shoaib Malik batting at 3? He avreges over 50 at that position! Now younis is a good fielder and a very good test batsman, but in ODI's there is no doubt, that the number 3 position wihtout question belongs to Shoaib Malik.
Has everyone forgotten about his reign in 2004/05 and parts og 06, where he destroyed bowling attack? The only reason he is palyed at 6 is to accomidate younis

Disappointed, yes but embarassed I am not. Given the injury laden team that we took to the series it would have been an outstanding miracle to have won it. I'm not making excuses. I just don't hold them responsible for not delivering a outstanding miracle.

It doesn't matter what your team looks like on paper, check out our 2003 team: shoaib, wasim waqar for bowlers! anwar, afridi, inzi, yunis, yusuf for batsmen! 'nuff said. It's good they didn't win the series SA dare I say. The ugly head of complacency takes no time to raise up when we win. We seem to perform best when nothing much is expected of us. The zillion posts before mine bear witness that no one thinks we can do it.

Cornered tigers or frightened rabbits (hilarious one! btw), I, for one, still have hope.

i still dont understand that why Afridi is not opening an inning, even though every one knows that he is like a trump card but at least it works soem times and every budy knows that he is hard hitter for circle for 15 overs he is the best.And why PCB dont fight for all this stupid actions up on our players that 4 match ban on Afridi they could fight for that but they did not do that iam very much up set with PCB officials.

It is surely true that Pakistan's performance in the last two ODIs has been embarassing to say the least...Totally without any commitment...you could see that the players were not putting in their 100%...and even when they were trying to make a competition out of the matches..luck didnt go in their favor..esp in the last ODI..where I think the wicket of Kallis at the start culd have changed the game...but again...ifs and buts.

One thing i am sure of...this performance does in no way mean that Pakistan would perform badly at the World Cup...as we all know...one game they play like completed spiritless players..and the next they will be playing like they are the best in the game!

Goodluck Pakistan for the World Cup!

Ok here is my world cup fact file:

Inzy:
Emotionless leader, thinks too slowly, uninspirational at the moment. Looses 15-20 runs in the field and takes singles where twos are on offer and doesn't bother with singles. Costs us about 30-35 runs per match. His time is up. Show him the door ASAP.

Younus:
A fighter but has been lacking the skill needed to take over the captaincy. Hasn't shown much promise in the stints as skipper. Is a good player but his position should not be tinkered with.

Yousaf:

A fine fine player in the form of his life. Lacks leadership qualities but no doubting his commitment to the cause. Could do with better running between wickets.

And now the rest...

Muhammad Hafeez: This guy is in the squad after consistent failures. An average of 18 and you've chosen ahead of people like Yasir Hameed, Salman Butt and Taufeeq Umer. Are you kidding me selectors? He is not worth a place in the line up.

Imran Nazir:
Can be very dangerous on his day and the WI wickets would suit his style of batting. Is a genuine talent but needs a bit of tapering and coaching on shot selection.

Shoaib Malik:
Should be used as an opener along with Nazir in the WI. A useful fielder and a decent bowler. Not much wrong with his selection.

Abdul Razzaq:
Looks like he still doesn’t know his role in the side. Has lost considerable pace over the years and is no more than a military-medium-easy-to-hit bowler. Needs to get his batting grove back if he wants to stay on after the WC.

Shahid Afridi:
This guy is an enigma. Needs to sort out his temperament a bit. Has all the qualities of a good leader and is a big motivator. Should be selected to lead the side after the WC. I think he has found some of this form and it’s good in some sense that he missed the last two ODIs.

Akhtar:
Show him the door. One performance after a year is just not good enough. Can’t see him playing consistently during the WC.

M Asif:
What a performer. This guy has made us all proud, the first genuine potent bowler to appear since Akhtar. Would trouble the best.

Gul:
If he can get 100% match fit, he would be a handful too.

Kaneria:
Why this guy is not in the ODI setup is beyond me. Playing aggressively to an attacking leggie is not an easy proposition at all. He would do well.

Rao Iftikhar:
Is a decent bowler and can keep it tight.

Rana Naveed:
How this guy remains in the line up despite one shambolic performance after another is beyond me. Has totally lost his line, length, rhythm and wicket taking ability. The most expensive bowler from Pakistan ever by leaps and bounds. Is no better than a come-and-hit-me bowler these days. He needs to be rested and not played him the big games.

Our squad is undercooked to say the least and their chances of going all the way are remote. But like all die hard supporters, I wish them all the best and hope (rather dream) that they bring the trophy home.

All of the sub-continental teams plus WIndies are on the same level at the moment. You never know what can any of these teams achieve on a given day. They bank on individual brilliance: Jayasuriya / Sanga for SL, Sachin / Sehwag / Ganguly for India, Yousuf / Afridi / Inzi for Pak, Gayle / Lara for WestIndies...
If it is bowling, again, Murli / Zaheer / Shoaib / Jerome Taylor... It's very rare that any of these teams play like a team on a given day.
But, every one of these teams have advantages: Lanka has some utility slow bowlers, India has perhaps the strongest batting lineup on paper, Pakistan (if the guys are fit and free of drug charges) has the best bowling lineup this worldcup can see and WIndies has home and fielding advantages.
So Kamran, don't get disheartened yet. Pakistan might exceed / betray all your expectations (Either win the worldcup or fail to qualify for the super8 itself...)

Relax! Pakistan will be back for the world cup as u don't know what kind of team will come out on that day, by the way i do agree that rana should have not been picked for the world cup, better of picking Azhar.

I do not compeltely agree with Kamran. Yes they should have shown some fight in the last 2 matches, but we have to consider that this was a long toor and the boys are tired both physically and mentally. There are certainly flaws in Inzi's captaincy but we have to evaluate other option before criticizing him. Younus khan's captaincy was exposed in the ICC Champions Trophy. Apart from this keep in mind that we were not with our full strength bowling. With respect to playing with Rana in the fianl match, I think Pakistan has done the right thing to give the chance to 11 players nominated in the WC squad.

Yes this toor is demoralising just before the Worldcup but we should also consider our past performances in SA. Its nothing different. In WI however the pitches will suit our palyers and hopefully we have with us all our 15 nominated playersa nd we can still do good. Don't be dishearted and wait for the ocassion.

not really embarassed the way Pakistan's team performed but kinda embarassed that pakistan is stiall carrying Bob Woolmer with em, Bob isnt helping team in anyway possible because non of the bowlers is fit and being a coach of this modren Era he should be able to work with the players and help em remain fit change their mentality about the game, but what is he doing? poking at players fitness getting into arguments with em rather than trying to learn players psychy and dealing with them in accordance gaining their confidence and helping them stay fit be more discplined at the crease as well as bowlinga tight line and not get carried away when the run rate is under 2 because when they dont score they panic because they have wrong mentality about the whole concept of building a partnership and spending time at the crease regardless of if you are scoring or not, and bowelers when they get hit for runs they deviate from their game plan rather then sticking to the tight line and letting the batsmen take the risk, pakistan team needs psych counsling, computer date analist who can generate a specific game plan for every player out in the world and find their weak areas and than help our bowlers and batsmen stick to the plan regardless of shortterm results, Inzmam need to show bowlers that e trusts them rather than having to bowl asif 10 stright overs in oneday game and put him out ther for a risk of serious injury which could shorten his career at the sametime hurts rest of the bowlers confidense, Rana needs to learn that bowling into the wickets and pitching it up to the batsmen and than hoping that batsmen would miss isnt the only way to get wickets because it doesnt work against discplined teams such as australia and south africa

After reading all the comments for this current blog, I think Pakistan team is been cursed by not respecting their own talent. The way they treated Javed, Waqar, and ignoring the services of Wasim and other great players are baffling. It is mind boggling to see how this board is run, since last WC I do not see any improvement in preparation for this WC and on the other hand it looks like the team is in worst shape and condition to even go and stay in WI. The whole structure of the cricket board needs to be re-evaluated, this board needs to be run by professional and people who have the knowledge and passion for the game. The only thing this current board knows is how to mint $$$ and than waste it.
Do these selectors want us to believe that this is all the talent we have in a country where this game is like religion. Where are the young players, why do we need to send players who can hardly move in the field. The game has become a mind game, the players needs to be smart and active in the field and should have a sense of what the opposition team is upto.
The basic rule for any player to play for the National team is to be little educated and should speak good English. I think from now on we need smart player who can learn and show the tendency and passion for the game, and above all players who will take pride in representing their country.

I have two Points:

Firstly KIRAN ZUBAIR from Ontario is 100%. Ban the wives and cut their match fees to make these punks play and work harder.

Secondly to GEORGE from SOUTH AFRICA: Dude, I wouldnt be too happy if I were you. Not only are all of u South Africans a bunch of racists and the masters of sledging and whining - but you`re also a bunch of CHOKERS. You'll never win a World Cup because you people always CHOKE when the big occasion comes up. At least we already WON a World Cup - Unlike you cry babies!

Kiran Zubair (Niagara Falls, Ontario) at February 15, 2007 7:12 AM

Come on guys, your team is not as bad as you are making it out to be. This criticism is taking a momentum of its own and every subsequent post is trying to out do the others.

I am sure SA does not look half as formidable when they tour Pakistan (or India). I also agree with what most people have mentioned that a turnaround does not take more than a match. Maybe the team is saving up all its luck for the WC.

The feelings in India were more or less the same after the SA tour, but a wins over WI and SL in the last few days and all is forgotten. I am sure WI with different kind of wickets will see a different Pak team. Even Rana might not seem so redundant there.

I am an ardent pakistani supporter from S.A.Very embarassed having watched the team perform so dismally in S.A.There was no fighting spiritat at all.At practice session on tuesday the game was lost already.There was no mood at the practice session.The time spent on batting,fielding and bowling puts a big question mark on the control and function of Bob Woolmer.He does not add any benefit to the team at practise sessions.I also question the intelligence of the team as cricket has got to be played using your head.When a wicket is lost early batsmen need tio consolodate and not be playing irrational strokes.The team dont realise that they must bat out the full 50 overs.I also believe that the descipline of the team parting the night before a game must stop.i also think that the captain and senior players must talk to the bowlers even during overs especially when bowlers are under attack.
lets see a good bowling coach ,fielding coach and the head coach take the team at heart.
Also Inzi must practise as his batting has deterioted because he thinks he knows it all.Inzi pad up and run at practices then you will perform.
We hope and pray the team performs at their best for the world cup.

it’s not about talent, pitches or conditions- it only boils down to the level of commitment and leadership. If your Captain is indolent and lethargic- how can you expect the rest of team to do any better?

Did anyone listen how South African commentators insulted (for being a rambling unit) the team and in turn the Pakistan as a whole.

I’m sure the performance in world cup would be no different. But lets just hope against the hope :)

I feel shame to say something about the national cricket team. No hope, I think they will be in the bottom in the ranking. Because they have the elephants in the team, who can not run to stop the ball. Most of them are heavy weight, they should be slim fit for fielding. And, I dont know why they always batting under pressure. Play your game and make some score. Dont be afraid. your apponent are 11 and you are also 11, they have two hands and two feet and I think our Pakistani team players also have the same. But, the other team players have some thing extra than Pakistani poor players. That is there love to their countries , that is there love to their profession and they are honest with their HALAL Income , I said Halal Income, because if your are not honest with your work for which you are paid , in my opinion your earning is Haram.
Any way Play without fear and make score. You have to come back to pavalion, so why not with some score. So from the beginning Hit Out and Get Out.
Am sorry , If I insult our team or said anything which is not correct, but what to do, am outside the Pakistan and facing so many nations to defend our prestigue.
Good Luck and Good Bye
Hameeduddin Khan
Jeddah
Saudi Arabia

No need to panic. We've been here many times before. Pakistani cricket is infuriating, but what is to be done. No use blaming Allah or Woolmer. He does his best. Inzimam is a brilliant bat but a dud captain(the fat lady has stopped singing) and everyone is aware of this fact. The sooner he retires the better. The rest of the team will have to be reconstructed and re-trained. They need to be disciplined, something that five prayers a day cannot provide.They might do better in the World Cup than this debacle might suggest, since they are capable of a rapid recovery. But whatever happens in the Indies, the management needs to think hard. Some of the most gifted younger players need experience and an inspirational captain and hard work. How does it happen that swinging stupidly at balls outside the off stump cannot be stopped. There is no shortage of talent. Shake a tree and a cricketer drops down, but he is still a raw mango and needs time in the sun to mature. Injuries are another problem. Too much world cricket is being played. So basicly we need two parallel touring teams. In the meantime let's stop abusing the kids and concentrate on the management and captain.

I wish Inzamam and Rana Naved should have been lost some where in the streets of Johannesburg. Inzamam had said this some times ago: whoever gave the performance will be selected for the World cup. This team has let us down so many times and they will do the same next month. Inzamam is getting fat day by day and he is out of form for over a year now.
Why Yasir Arafaat has not been selected for the world cup. We have list of injured and out of form players and our PCB exectives and foreign coaches are getting paid in huge amount. Bob woolmer has been the coach for a very long time and we are not yet settled with our openers.

Shame on you Inzamam and Coach Woolmer.
Inzamam: Please retire if you have any respect.

We are all fanatically attached to cricket and all above comments shows how much is expected from Pakistani team. We all know that they have the talent and metal, but it is that lethargic approach that is doing the damage. Pakistan team needs to be professional. They donot have to be Pontings or Pollocks but they can be regular and consistent Afridis, Yousufs and Nazirs. They have done it in the past and no wonder they might pull the rabbit out of hats- a far cry with present circumstances. If these people can only realize the emotional bindings every Pakistani has with every individual of the team, every body shall win the game for us.

Continued from what Zarak Khan said. I don’t blame the Pakistan Cricket Team. I never did. I blame the way Pakistan Cricket is administered in Pakistan starting from the Patron in Chief himself –The President of Pakistan. When you choose a person who has no cricket background to run the cricket board why do u expect the team to perform like cricketers. Its like hiring a IT professional to run a Bank. It wont work. Gradually the damaging effects will show on the products that Bank has to offer. Same is the case here. I say change the whole infrastructure of Pakistan Cricket Board. I can guarantee I can run a better show than the current Chairman. Ive always believed the target for your ODI side is the world cup and for the test is the number one spot. They had 4 years to build a team, 4 long years. Enough of this short-sightedness. I could have made two teams by now. We’re not short of talent, we’re not short of resources either. Pakistan Cricket board is one of the most profitable organizations in Pakistan. We need to look at where we’re going wrong. Openers, Bowlers, lack of enthusiasm, lack of determination, hunger to win, and on and on and on. Embarrassed!!!! Dear Kamran, embracement is losing ONE match by 10 wickets not the whole series. This is Humiliation at its best. Hell even the misses asks me why am I still bothering to watch the matches. Cricket is in our blood, meaning I and many other millions will still watch the world cup, hoping praying for a better show. But its time we make our voices heard as well to the right authorities. This has to STOP!!!!

No, I am not at all embarassed!!! I won't even be embarassed when TeamPakistan will loose to Ireland. This is the strength of our team right now. What once was 'A Team" is right now a bunch of players playing for themselves. Upfront was the requirement and our skipper went more down. So, I have already started thinking of quitting to watch the World Cup, at least watching our Team matches. These guys have really let us down. Loosing is not a problem as far as you are fighting. But here there was no fight, no planning. The complete tour was a "Mess". I suggest that after the WC complete team including the PCB should change...

From me its "goodbye" to PakTeam matches...I will be supporting and hoping that SA or the KIWIS to win the WC.

So you guys dont burn your heart supporting Team Pakistan, just relax and enjoy cricket.. otherwise yo will be in for more and more embarassemnts.

I dont think players are much at fault but the management who presented a false report to president of pakistan on world cup preparation..they were never prepared, since they had no back up players in event of injuries and stuff...similarly, the tour of south africa was planned only to demoralise and making the team tired with foolish itinerarary..why are these people getting millions when they dont know how to do their job..they could have easily brought in talented youngsters who have made us proud by winning consecutive world cups in under 19 championships...typical buracracy did what was expected of them and that is NOTHING

it is a fact that the pakistani team is a unpridectible team i think Inzamam needs to come at no 3 position as is evident by the fact all good teams put their best batsmen on top. Aus, SA, Even Srilanka .The top three batmen in all these teams are genuine match winners such as R pointing, A Gilcrist, Kallis, Jaysuriya Ganguly, Fleming,Tendulkar, M jaywerdena , i can go on and on. See Inzamam has to comit himself and show the motivation by scorin runs and coming at no 3 or no 4 max if he canot sustain presure then he shoulnt expect others to perform he has to be agresive and lead from the front bec the game of cricket will not die but will be pasion less as far as pakistani nation is concerned

The prophets of Doom and Gloom are out with a fury on the Pakistan team. A rundown on the comments posted here are sufficient proof. The question is, is it really that bad? Well I dont think so. Look at England, couple of matches before the tri-nation finals they were at their lowest ebb; and this was after a clean sweep in the Ashes. There were parallels being drawn with the weakest of English teams to have ever played cricket. But then they not just enter the finals, but win it in two straight games. This my dear readers is cricket! As far as the Pakistan team is concerned, with Shoaib, Umer Gul and Kaneria coming back they will be a force to reckon with. Yes, the problem is with the openers. If we can get two decent batsmen to open for Pakistan and face 15 overs and score over 75 runs, believe me it will be very difficult to beat Pakistan even by Australia. So lets wait and see what's in store for us. Meanwhile the doomsayers are advised to take a break!

After watching Razzaq's waft (that too in slow-motion) and realizing that this is a man who has played over 200 ODIs for us, I promptly switched to Al-Arabiyya and happily watched ten saudis prance around waving swords in the air for the next hour.

It seems as if our openers and all the bloody bloody all-rounders are desperately trying to control their bowel movements. why else would they utterly refuse to move their feet while batting?

with the WC just round the corner, we have failed to nurture a Wicket-Keeper. I was just thinking Y shudn't the team start playing Younis Khan as a keeper. India did this wid Dravid, they reached the final. this would also give us the option of playing 6th specialist batsman.

I don't need to repeat what i said on the Kaneria blog but it is a complete shambles and just as well the fans are having trouble with their visas. Might just be a blessing in disguise or part of the same conspiracy theory... that Pakistan have already decided on a quick exit at the group stage in front of very few fans and then go off to have some pakoras on the beach and wait for the bookies to hand them a few wads of cash. These guys need some lashes (bar Asif and Yousuf. Wake up u prats, u are a laughing stock of world cricket and embarassing your fans. Go Bangla Go (although i'm sure Rana is an undercover Bangla agent)

Forget it guys, life's too short to follow these guys. Get some DVDs of 1992 world cup and watch the true tigers fighting! Remember Imran telling Steve Waugh to 'shut it' after his dismissal...these guys commanded respect and teams were scared. The current guys are a bunch of pussy cats. In fact my local village team wouldn't pick Rana...get a hair transplant or something rather than getting on the plane to the Carib.

I think our team 'peaked' way too early under Bob. Had the world cup been played in 2005 rather than this year, we may have been contenders, as it stands we are pretty much in the same situation as at the start of the 2003 World Cup, taken a beating when you would expect them to show a little pride for the country. One problem is that there are too many players in the squad that don't feel threatened and aren't under any pressure to perform cause they know they'll get picked to play . Taken Kamran Akmal's performances with the gloves and bat for the last 6 months or so. Any other team would have replaced him by now and this was a real chance for Pakistan to take Zulqarnain along to the world cup as well in place of Rana Naveed who has performed less than half of what we know he can achieve. The opener's slot isn't settled and don't be alarmed to see a totally different combination opening the batting during the World Cup. When we have batted against SA in the ODI series we have always lost an early wicket and are normally 70-4 before the repair work can start to begin. The match in Jo'burg was a great chance to put a good score on the board on pitch offering a little pace and bounce, but it was down to poor shot selection that let us down. I have watched Bangladesh play in a similar fashion, where if the run's aren't coming, they hit out and get themselves out and we don't know how to stick to a game plan and play 50 overs.

Can't see us getting any further than the Super 8's in this World Cup, a very good opportunity after the poor showing in the 2003 World Cup has been lost.

Well here we have a team, which is not in top form, is marred by injuries, lacks the fighting spirit and has a DEFENSIVE mindset. You need the first three ingredients in order to play a good game and an AGGRESSIVE APPROACH to win. At the moment and what we have seen in the recently concluded ODI’s that Pakistan needs to overcome these problems. I am of the opinion that Pakistan is the most talented team in the cricket realm and is the most unpredictable at the same time. The major reason for this downfall is the STRATEGY Pakistan team have adopted in the recent past. It’s their game plan that has done them rather than anything else. You look at the past few series (since Inzi has been the captain) and you will understand what I mean. It’s the DEFENSIVE mindset that has played a great role in the downfall of Pakistan cricket, whether it’s the management, Inzi or Bob Woolmer. I don’t believe in the past what has happed has happened but one needs to learn from the mistakes.

Let me highlight a few recent examples of the team’s defensive mind set (Inzi+Woolmer). 1. Akmal’s promotion at the top of the order in the last game. But Inzi thought that let us send Akmal and if he plays on a good innings (which he is capable of) we will get a good platform. You cannot do that against a top class bowling attack. Inzi should have gone himself at number 2, why not? He is a great batsman and can play a long innings. He is more than capable of handling any bowling attack. He could have tried this in a couple of games. The objectives of these last ODI series should have been to prepare the team for the WC rather than just pressing the panic button and play with madness for a win. It’s better to loose fighting than loosing by a huge margin and demoralize the whole team at the same time. They should have tried different combination in batting and bowling. They also didn’t give a chance to the Zulqarnain (wicket keeper) why not? Reason being, what if he doesn’t play well and we will loose the game or let us give another chance to Akmal he might play a good innings (shaid chal jae ga) as we say in Urdu.

2. Rana’s & Hafez’s selection for the WC. Why Rana? Why not Azhar or Yasir Arafat or Fawad Alam (look at his recent ODI domestic record). Again chal jae ga attitude. Rana has been hit all over the park in all the game by all the South African players. In no game has he bowled well. Hi inclusion is the most mind boggling to me so far. I agree that players with experience should be played but that doesn’t mean that no matter what the form of the player is just because he has experience should be in the playing 11. Similarly why Hafeez, just because he can ball? He has been selected as an opener and we have seen his record in the recent past and that’s not good for an opening position.

Well there are so many other examples but the list would be too long. If any of the Pakistani fans are hoping that they this team will play some good cricket in WC 2007 they shouldn’t expect much. They are just hoping against hope. The KEY to their success in the world cup or reaching the last 4 will be an AGGRESSIVE APPOACH. The Right batting order and taking a few risks (e.g taking the power plays later in the innings). People are comparing the present situation with WC ’92, mind you its not 1992 its 2007. the other teams will be tough than ever, know there opposition quite well and lets not assume that it will rain in one of the Pakistan games and 1 point will awarded to each team, which will help Pakistan reaching the semis. But who knows, ‘Fortune Favors the Bold’.

Before this SA series i had a belief that Pakistan had a good chance in the world cup but now i seriously doubt it. Pakistan were not playing with any strong mentality. I am extremely gutted about inzi. He isnt a very lively captain. I hoped that we won this world cup as a tribute to inzi but does he deserve it? However i still love shahid afridi. HE IS THE BEST!!!

Dear Kamran,
I dont think the players know how devastated the fans feel on losing. Moreover where is their Izzat that Inzamam talked about in England. Look at the example of Afridi. Against England he damages the pitch then he now goes about trying to flay a spectator. His comment was that the spectator said something against Pakistan. Should we do the same against our team for letting our Pakistan down?
Inzamam,(I refuse to call him Inzi now for that would be showing fondness and that is the last thing I feel right now for him) I wrote nearly eight months ago should be retired as Captain of one day cricket. This game is too strenous for a fit 35 or 36 years old, not to talk of Inzamam. It was a sight to see the South African team fielding and the way they were fit. The running between the wickets. Every time Inzamam runs you are not sure if his running (if he ever does)is going to get him anywhere. His running has affected all the other batsman. Yousuf, Shoaib etc. They always lumber across.
Inzamams interference has led to Naveed and Kamran Akmal being selected for the World Cup. They have played all the matches. I am sure everybody will talk about it after the World Cup. But that would be hindsight. Its today we have to see. This Inzamam, whose knowledge is only limited to his batting ability period should be coached in Captaincy for the next one month. We cant get rid of him now as it is too late. I am not sure if he can even read the rules or laws of cricket or is aware of many. Maybe those that are used day to day. His use of P1, P2 and P3 is so limited. I dont know if he knows he can delay their implementation. Oh I could go on and on but can Inzamam read all this????? Who am I writing for?

Well, what panic and despair is being aired by most Pakistani surporters, for heavens sake, you were thumped by a far better unit...forget the so called talent your bunch of individuals supposedly have ( hesitate to call them a team). Anybody who has played cricket will know that having talent is only a portion of what it takes in achieving excelence. Talent without old fashion guts and a together we stand, divided we fall team spirit, will not get you very far.
Accept the fact that you need to come out of the 'we are so talented clouds'and face reality that you need a TEAM. Select ONLY players who are hungry for success and who will accept the pain and the cost involved in achieving it. Having a captain who looks for any old excuse to sneak off the field for a break is like losing the battle before it has begun. Inzy is a, no was, a great batsmen but he is no battle field general.

professionals...professional cricket players, thats what these guys are, but they lack every essence of the word. next stop is the world cup and no1 yet knows what their role is??..wow...kamran akmal and shoaib malik are not openers, imran nazir, imran farhat, salman butt, are openers.

yasir hameed avg 39.12 in 50games - is not playing
mohd hafeez avg 19 - in 44 games is playing

imran farhat is not shahid afridi, he has to realize that, its the managements job to make him realize that.

razzak is not an attacking bowler, he's the guy who will bowl 10 overs for 35-40runs n may b pik up a wicket here n there.

younis khan shud bat at number 1, its his natural game,
inzamam shud bat at 4
mohd yousuf shud at 5

the bowlng department is a mess, rana shud not play, asif bowlng 10overs straight when pakistan has 350 on the board is a waste, sami is not a new ball bowler,

these are just simple facts...any one can figure these things out...y cant they keep the challenge as simple as possible by doing the basic things right. select the right people to do the right job...thats all there is to it

Wow! Kamran Bhai has lit a fire that is raging here. Yes I agree with few of you that Inzi and Co. showed dismal performance in the field, but that doesn’t make Pakistan the worst team in the cricketing world, nor it means that us supporters loose all our faith on the team. This is the problem with India / Pakistani fans, when our teams are winning, we are all up for it and we celebrate like no other. But we loose couple of games even as bad as we lost these, all of a sudden we want to fire the coach, change the captain, kick everyone out of the team and suddenly want to bring out new breed to the game! Isn’t that unfair? I think a true fan is one who supports the team thru thick and thin, yes THICK AND THIN!! Because the team needs you the most right now! I understand that we all are “gutted out” and “embarrassed” and “ashamed” of our team and may be on our selves for rooting for PAKISTAN, but it is all part of the game! Both teams step on the field to win, its not like Pakistan entered the field saying ok guys how can we loose this one and embarrass our selves and our nation?
A major issue I see in this defeat is inconsistency. We were not consistent at all through out the series but it happens. As few sited the Indian defeat in S.A, I agree with them. What is the whole purpose of playing a HOME series? WHAT IS HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE? S.A arranged pitches, which were suitable for their likes! And as somebody mentioned here that S.A struggled against quality bowling also. We are unfortunate that injuries to key players hit Pakistan hard. I have no doubt in my mind that if the Trio (Shoby, Asif and Gul) carries on an attack, there will be no stronger side than Pakistan.
As far as the Prime Time (World Cup) is concerned the pitches are to favor teams from subcontinent and I am sure that Pakistan will cash in to these conditions. The pitch certainly will help Pakistani batsmen to settle and score. Our strike pace bowlers will get assistance from the pitch as well as our star leggy Danish Kaneria, who by the way has improved from the help of Musshy. As said earlier, criticism is good, but few of the comments here are fairly harsh. After all, cricketers are human too and they are prone to make mistakes! I was hurt to read someone commenting on Pakistan winning the world cup because of prayers and how tableegies wants to rule the team, honestly I heard legends like Javed and Imran Khan mentioning that when they entered the field during 1992 world cup run, they felt that their fans and love ones prayed them and their prayers were with them. It sure can’t win the game for them, but undeniably make ways to!

Finally would like to conclude by saying one that is with the team no matter what the result comes out to be is a TRUE FAN!!

Nirbhay Singh; i agree with him. His comment has given me some heart. However, Pakistan's world cup hope are too much of just that. Hope and wishes. Unless Paksitan has the 1st choice 11 in that I mean, Asif, Akhtar and Gul playing, we really will not get to the semis. Kamran, i also feel you are losing hope for no reason, we are ranked 3rd still, and the picthes in A.Africa are waayyyy different from the Caribb. Hope is still there, the situation isn't completely disastrous there, although it does sometimes feel like it. You do have to admit, that Pollock bowled beautifully, and took out Inzi, Yousuf and Younis, and once thsoe are out cheap, Pakistan never make a substantial score anyways. Lets keep our hopes up, and rally behind the team (esp. those lucky ones actually goin to the Caribb), and hopefully we will win; the 92 team looked a mess, whereas the 87 team looked like winners, so you can;t really judge until the tourny really starts.

This is a repeat of our build-up to the WC '03. We went to South Africa, lost the Test Series & got thrashed in all but one ODI. The subsequent WC was the worst in our history. There's little to suggest things would be different this time.

Dont judge a team on 1 performance judge a team on a series. West Indies beat SA in the CT with pure luck they were 210-1 and lost 4 wickets in no time. They tried the same tactics against Aus and it failed badly. South Africa should win the WC easily judging on what they did the past year, twice scoring over 400 runs and then a 392 in the past series

Moses 3:3 Moenie worry nie, watch net!!!

DejaVu: This is exactly how we performed in SA before the last world cup. Just wondering if this is a sign of things to come. I better cancel my world cup travel plans...

sajid

i totally agree kamran, inzamam is a pathetic leader, i get sick when i look at his helpless face and his defensive approach of batting himself lower down the order. why rana is still in the team, why a legspinner is the bowling coach, why azhar has not been picked ahead of any one inspite of putting up a good show in the recent series, why there is a vagueness on shoaib and asif doping issue, why there is a feeling in the country that it is not a cricket team it is a religious group why? i was almost about to cry last night when i saw the performance of my team, all we want is to see our team fighting like tigers, winning or loosing is a different matter but atleast there should be some dignity in loosing. May Allah put some brains and hearts in our team.

Pakistan cricket neets to clean up its act right from the top down. The sport is run like a fiefdom where whim and power is yielded freely. It is an arena where "jazbaat" and "akkar" rule the day, be it a captain resigning on the eve of a tour to a player slapping (Jaipur) or pushing (S.Africa) the coach around. There is so much politics, back-room dealing and anything other than National interest at heart.

Clean it up from top down. Put into place an administration that is from the game and for the game. Bring in other professionals to manage the various aspects of players pools, selection policies, discipline and strategy.

I'd agree with some that Pakistan (on current form) has a snowballs chance in hell, but it is a team that often makes one sit back in awe - be it an Afridi, Anwar or Yousuf.

But for the fans (I am not one) back the team. This is when they need you most. It is easy to support a winner - but dont make the looser an orphan.

Having said that, Indian selection policy stinks to high heavens. Sehwag? Kumble? Lets get serious!

I think its not the correct time to critice Inzy or his company. Inzi is such a class player and we all know he proved lot of time in the past but we dont know why he batted in lower order. I think the team biggest problem with the strike bowlers and their opening pair.they can become tiger again if they able to solve this problem.

hi i am from india.nice review of the s.a series.i want india to win the wc.if they fail the nxt team i wud like to see lifting the cup wud be pakistan.but thats not going to happen with either of them SADLY.BCCI and PCB be more accountable else bring down the shutters.

Whats funny is that after Pakistan's disastrous 2003 World Cup campaign, we were told that they were building a team for the next world cup. It seems strange when they bring up the world cup 3 or 4 years before the event. Players like Mohammad Hafeez and Kamran Akmal were brought into the team for the 2007 edition and where are we know ? Back to the same place we were 4 years ago. Selecting Hafeez was a mistake to begin with. He is a bits and pieces cricketer and should be a reserve for the 'A' team. Yaseer Hamid or Asim Kamal should have been selected instead of him. I can predict heads rolling in about two months time and we will probably hear from the selectors that they are now building a team for the 2011 world cup but honestly who has the patience to deal with this crap anymore ?

surprised !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! not at all

embarrasssssed!!!!!!!!!!!! yes , definitely

its hard enough being a pakistan cricket fan, if thats your country of origin, I'm south african and i support pakistan .......... now i have a choice in the matter, and after this series maybe i chose blindly ....

be that as it may, i do believe this vastly talented team can bounce back, but they must make sure that kamran akmal, and rana naved miss their flights to windies, failing which maybe a bout of food poisoning for the the first phase, failing which let rana keep wickets and kamran bowl. these two idiots between them create more shame and embarrasment for us fans,then the entire unfit, spineless, injury prone, controversial characters of the squad.

what i think, we'll do well in the world cup, after all "certain things in life are uncertain", like death, and pakistan cricket being the mother of uncertainty , i guess are ready to do what they do best , so if there are any surprises left, i believe they'll be the surprise of victory, because losing and losing badly isnt a surprise anymore ....

and by the way i didnt manage to sell my tickets for the wanderers match, no one wanted it not even for free.

Shambles !!! No fight, no bottle ? nothing, What the hell is Akmal doing in the Squad, Farhat, Yasir Hameed average 33.00 (in Test) in their batting and they open ? Drop Akmal, Drop Woolmer, the fact Remain Pkistan has no Second Team, and is nothing without key players such as(Afridi, Gul and Akhtar) ... Pakistan need to sort their training regime out ... Pak squad got the best bowlers in the world so why is their batting so Rubbish ? Pakistan do not deserve their 3 rd. ranked postion in their rankings ... ashamed !

like Imran Khan has been saying improve the Domestic Structure and your will see the improvemenet in International team.

pakistan is truly on the right track to get eliminated for the second round thanks to our lovely captain inzi , the coach and selectors .

how will be inzi convinced tht he needs to bat at the top of the order for my liking . he should bat somewhere between number 3 or 4 .
secondly i think rana has been given enuff chance to ragain his form and its useless to have him in the world cup squad its better to have someone like sami in .
talking about rao iftikhar anjum for me he is a very gud bowler . the seam position yesterday was fantastic and he bowled upto 140 kph but unfortunately like many other pakistani he has not been given enuff chance to prove his worth.
our captain should lead from front and he can only do that by scoring big runs right at the top order . i think shoaib mallik and imran nazir should open and inzi to follow .
it was once again a hopeless performance by pakistan and God knows how many more are left to be seen .

I am a big fan of pakistan wen they fire but wen not i jus switch of the tv n go 2 sleep coz da news is same SA hammerd pak..... i just want 2 ask a question MR. Kamran y doesnt pakistan try sum new players who r der from u19 who performed so well in da u19 wc.to name Samiullah niazi is one of dem v no v r nt gona win da WC try 2 atleast challenge other teams,wen v dont even no if shoaib is goin 2 play.....i m nt sure abt RANA does he pay to play or is he inzi's best freind... and y doesnt inzi understand wat da whole world knows wer to bat, y no.6. take ricky ponting,dravid,smith,fleming,vaughan,dey r der to save if di openers fail.but mr inzi cums wen its 32 for 5 der is da big guy to take da team to 120.inzi n.o on 52. der is no doubt in his ability as a batsman but his thinking captaincy shud be considered. hope for da best in dis WC

I understand the anguish of Pakistanis over their cricketers. Their Indian counterparts are no less in such matters. but to the credit of Pakistani cricketers, they have often risen to the occasion. and a series loss might not even mean much eventually, if one of the big guns like Inzi, Younis or Yousuf fire. it takes just one spark for the mercurial team to bounce back. I might sound a tad too optimistic, but the subcontinent teams are more enigmatic than systematic.

Pakistan team should learn from the mistakes they have made in this series and try to play good cricket in world cup. Our players are full of talent, what they lack is desire to win, which i hope bob and inz can brought back to Pakistani cricket team otherwise we wont make it to super eight.

Well, this was on the cards. Never before have I seen the Pakistani team, especially INZI THE CAPTAIN with such dull body language. Since the departure IMRAN KHAN from the Pakistani team, their performance can be described as a perfect SINE WAVE; high at times when we wouldn't expect (ICC TROPHY 2006 MATCH AGAINST SRI LANKA) and worse at times when we would be 100% sure that the team could not be beaten (UMM 2003 WORLDCUP, 1999 WORLDCUP FINAL, 1996 WORDLCUP QUARTER FINAL AND SO ON AND SO FORTH).
Lets face it, even the best cricketing coach has had ZERO EFFECT on the team. No opening pair, fielding (if it were to be called fielding) has not changed at all and yes the much talked about FITNESS CULTURE that was induced in the team when Woolmer joined has evaporated even before it settled in.
I seriously do not see Pakistan making it further than the SUPER 8's in this World Cup. Ironically, INZI has been THANKING GOD even when the team loses. INZI, please (& pretty please for that matter) think twice before you take GOD's name in vein. And do remember that God helps those who help themselves.
As a consolation, if Pakistan's performance trend is to be compared to a SINE WAVE, then let's hope this the furthest dip before a dramatic rise. If not ... then GOD help us.

bowling coach=waqar younis
batting coach=zaheer abbas
pcb=shariyar khan
musharraf the president of pakistan bring back the best if u love cricket so much u will get on to wat names i have mentioned act like a president please u r the only 1 that can sort out this mess

Well, It is very difficult for teams going to S.Africa and perform there especially for the teams from the sub continent.Can you pls pass on my message to the vice captain of the pakistan team Mr.Younis Khan.We India did babdly there in the ODI's he was quoted on this website saying 'Pakistan will do very well'.I respect the talent in the man but he should have never been over confident.
Still I think Pakistan will do well in the Carribean as they are a professional outfit and bolster the likes of Afridi,Yousuf,Imran Nazir,Mahmood.

I think i am commenting too late on something that has been raped up very well by south africa full marks too them for playing consistent cricket through out the tour the result doesnt suprise me and no i am not embarrased by defeats it just helps you to see where you are wrong we as a team are united and captaincy has no problem anything of all its the timing and the timing of players getting injured players like razzaq afridi nazir malik mahmood coming back after a long layoff and a bad move not to have iftekhar anjum in the thick of things from start as he could have been a good choice when naveed and sami are not able to put things right. Pakistan team will not have that bad wickets in westindies as we find here in south africa so pakistanis dont be scared we play as we play with spirit with all united and performing no one is stoping inzy bhai team going far in the coming world cup as bob puts play your best and as i say let the result take care of itself love you all....!

Come on Guys , The team is not a fully functional
"YOYO" so what else can be expected from it , Enjoy this "YoYo" as yo used to do in your childhood ! Live with the excitments of seeing it at its peak ( like the 1992 saga ) and then see & praise it at its rock bottom too , Do not burnt your blood or have nightmares & loose your sleep for such a bunch of "Lamb Boy YoYo" .

Needless to say, I am just as disappointed as every pakistani cricket fan reading this. I feel I must add my two cents, to get it out of my system. The pakistani team has grossly underperformed during this tour. The have cause a 100 million hearts to shatter. There is a utter lack of discipline in all forms of the game - batting, bowling and feilding. There is no passion to fight, let alone win.
A lot of you guys failed to mention the problems behind the scene - so to speak. Our board (its not ours - it belongs to a few good men - Waseem bari, Our beloved president, Saleem altaf 'the management committee')
They, i dont know why, feel that this board is theirs - PCB, a public entity, belongs to the people of Pakistan - not you fine gentlemen - its not for you to display your egos by doing as you please. There is a lot more at stake. A full shake up of this 'management committee' is much needed - but will unfortunately never happen.
Inzi has also decided to play god, with woolmer acting as robin. Can someone please tell them, what their job is?
For those of you like me, who would like to remember some of the good times - when men for playing for our country, not boys. Go to the wonderful site, YouTube - type "Pakistan Cricket" - thers about a million or so clips to watch - when our pace attack was Shoaib, Wasim, Waqar, Imran...
Don't lose faith, we need everyones support for the world cup!

High time the people realize that Inzamam may be an exceptional batsman but he is way past his prime. A Captain should lead from the front, he comes at number 6. Besides he is the worst Caption on the International scene. His inane utterings (except for Thanks to God) are an indication of his mental capabilities. . He seems to have the IQ of a fish (a mentally retarded one). Beside his bringing in his cronies like the Tableeghi Mushtaq as well as keeping his undeserving friends has demoralized the team. But he should not be the only one to blame. The selectors and management have shown themselves to be equally incompetent. However nothing can be done about them as Emperor Mushraff has appointed the undeserving Nasim who being a political appointee without any accountability does not give a damn.

No doubt in my mind the last 2 ODI's were the most dismal performances a Pakistani side has ever played in. Pakistan is pretty much in the same situation it was 4 years ago prior to the WC03- they got a drubbing by SA.

Reading dozens of comments from sooo many demoralized fans, i want to offer a little comforting words- Pakistan has hit ROCK BOTTOM and there is only one way to go from here!! LOL I'm sure our players have gotten a wake up call and they'll try their best at the WC, so keep your expectations low and spirits High! Cheers.

cm on guyz..
y r we crying over performance of bunch of losers calles team pakistan ???????????????

just get over cricket people.
n switch to football.
pakistam beat singapor by 3-2
cheers :)...

pakistani players are shameless losers who dun hav ne pride ov country left in them.

pEACE!

Hi Kamran,
well dear on some reasons u r right but on some reasons i dont think u r and i m telling u one thing Pakistan will do really good in World Cup. beause there will be different ball game but i just feel that inzamam is too defensive nowadays that he doesn't want come to the crease and this will hurt if he will not come out from a defensice shell. I think bob and inzy tried many openers but fail to get one for me I think Inzamam should open the innings with Nazir or Hafeez because he is not able to fit to play in middle overs as younis at 3 yousuf at 4 and malik at 5 will bat in the middle order and then Razzaq at 6 Akmal at 7 then bowlers will follow like Gul, shoaib, Keneria and then only left hander of the squad Mr.Asif at 11.
Well for me Pakistan Cricket board is playing too bad then team as they haven't select any left hander to disturb the opposite bowling attack and feel sorry for Imran FArhat as he is unlucky dont know what are the reasons behind that a person who is attacking in test cricket and doing good at ok leavel suddenly droped from one day squad.
well although i know there are lots of liabilities in team like Razzaq and Rana, but hope that they will do in world cup as true heroes.
Insha Allah Pakistan will rocks in world Cup

what we are missing is a true leader like Imran Khan. His Charisma, Character and vision to lead was a joy to watch. None of the players have motivation to play like professionals. Until we highlight this at the top level we will continue to see bad performance by the lads...in fairness we have great talent in the team that needs a positive change NOW!

PAKISTAN ZINDABAD!! Y r u embarresed r u the ones playing on the field with all your main bowlers injured or the one with the back problem we lost but us tru pakistani's r keepin are heads up n this world cup inshallah would be ours

Thanks for support and very good comments by Indian fans!
Yes, we are hurt coz
1) Though in 93, we were bowled out on 43, but still we believed that at 21/3, we haven't dropped LARA, we could have won that match----wasim took life out of Richardson---
2- We are not used to be beaten by such a huge margin
3- This team under inzi, woolmer partnership has played so fantastically utiizing mimimum resources, and fighting injuries, scandals that this loss so near to WC (probably WC irrelevant) hurt all of us alot
3- We all wanted RANA & KAMRAN in the WC, we all know GUL & Shoaib may not be there---still we wanted some rest to both so they can come back strongly----but why they were persisted.....(RAO impressed wonderfully i nlast match).
But why don't we feel
1- This team played only 3 days badly, 1 day acceptablly and 1 day like heaven-----while they almost brought the Test seeies victory.
2. Razzaq, Malik, Afridi,Inzi, Younis were back from injuries etc, and they got goo practice for World cup---they will bring the cup to pakistan!
3. World cup is in West indies , not in South Africa---WI , where pak won last ODI series comprehensively...

3. This team was in SA, the worst host---well---we have to adopt but again our players are also polite like us, may feel a bot mentally tired at the end of tour (ofcourse have to improve)..

BUT I AM STILL EMBARASSED BY PCB POLITICS, NOT A SOUND INFRASTRUCTURE, NO LAW and above all ICC RACISM---

I am proud of our great cricket team who still performs well under worst circumstances--

Beleieve in yourselves. (Inzi has improved the fielding)

This world cup is of Pakistan.
Pakistan zinda bad

I agree with Rohan, well said!

Hi Dears,
Is there anyone who could tell me why Wasim Bari doing this very serious job for a long time with unprofessional approach, he is totally unprofessional for this job, you can very easily judge Mr. Bari's abilities by the selection of Hafeez and Imran Farhat ahead of brilliant Yasir Hameed. That day will be most happiest when Mr. Bari will leave this job or sack and I definitely thanks Almighty Allaah. I don’t know why they did silly thing with Waqar Younis, when he started showing his result in bowlers and every one easily could see Waqar’s effects on bowlers in the shape of excellent bowling of Umer Gul to one of the greatest batsman ever seen in the history of cricket and you can easily see deference of Rana Naveed’s bowling way he is doing in SA and bowled at home against WI. Why Mustaque Ahmed hared head of Waqar when he was effecting.
I don’t think that Pakistan can win World Cup or even qualify for the Semi Final or further of Supper Eight. I will be really shack if Pakistan able to qualify. Afridi is only guy who showed aggressions always tough he does not perform good every time but his body language show us aggressions in the other hand you look at Razzaq no aggressions, spirits and his body language unprofessional approach. I don’t know why is he not improving yourself like a true all rounder. Look a Kallis whom call all rounder every time 110% gives with bowling, batting and fielding. He bowled last match at the speed of 148kps which Razzaq only can think to bowl this speed because way he is working unprofessionally.
I wish that Pakistan cricket act like other teams.
Amin

PAKISTAN OBITUARY: its safe to say Pakistan has ensured that every Pakistani including "Chahcha Cricket" have no hope for the World Cup.... 7 or 8 Players were dropped after 2003 World cup but i guess this time only 2-3 might see the 2011 campaign. How lackluster it was, no will to fight, Even People Like Shoaib Malik who had got in never try to protect the tail(Let asif face 4 balls from Ntini over) it was Spineless, they have forgotten the Value of Playing for Pakistan!!! The country which has given them everything and more!!! Ask a poor street vendor in a small town of Kohat what has he got from the country? he still has not lost hope because he Believe in You(The Pakistani team). even he would know what wrong with Rana Naveed's bowling! How can such a person play professional cricket with no Mental capacity to understand his mistake...
Shameful! they are a disgrace... The problem starts with Adhocism and people who have not got a clue about Cricket!!! well Done Dr. Ashraf. You have destroyed in 6 months the planning of 3.5 years.
We are still experimenting while our so called world class experienced players hides between Youngsters who are fed to the Dogs when sent upfront in the batting order... look at ricky ponting, look at Kallis, look at Vaughan, look at Fleming... the Examples are Endless!!!
Leader lead from the Front!!! not hide behind thier Soldiers...
Its All about Passion. you could see it in Imran Khan eyes yesterday on TV, He is so dissapointed and so helpless as no one is willing to listen to him!!! he could motivate the present bunch and make them World beaters, Such was the Charisma of the man!!! he would go in as No. 3 to solve the problem.
Miandad would fight until his last breath, never say Die!!! where is that Hunger. winning the worldcup is the ultimate aim of players!!! our players aim is whether by hook or crook be just part of the team.
People complain Wasim and Waqar make negatives comments about Pakistan cricket in International media, Do you blame them for being treated like Convicts by the PCB... People like Mushtaq Ahmed who has nothing to offer are kept with the team just because they are best Friend of the captain...
I can go on and on but and still the list of problems will be endless... Finally i have decided to Enjoy the cup for the love of the game and not as a Pakistani!!! maybe and just maybe i will be able to enjoy it.... It hurts and its very painful!!! being a pakistani in Dubai with Indians, Srilankan, Australians and Englishmen... It HURTS!!!

EMBARASSED !!!! Being a cricket lover iwas very dissapointed the way Pak played against SA a world class team who can beat australia any time any where but frankly speaking our boys have totally failed.They sp.akmal rana hafeez and above all inzi sholud not accompany the team to the w.cup as they are good for nothing.and plz dont waste time energy and funds on S.AKHTER who was backed by the so called cricketer wasim akram.Waqar should be reinstaed immeadietly as bowling coach in place of the molvi mushtaq ahmed he might be a good player but certatinly not a coach.We just cant depend on YOUNIS YOUSUF AND M.ASIF we need 11 players in the filed.Pakistan can make it to the last eight coz of three teams besides w.indies u all know which are the teams.

kamran please tell me one thing which i have been asking every one but still i am unable to find any single answer........

WHAT IS MUSHTAQ AHMED DOING WITH TEAM ?????????

please i realy wana know this as this question has started to haunt me now....

This thrashing was expected because wrong decisions were made. It is not excuse that cricket is a game and that winning and losing is part of it. When you have the talent to tumble a team like SA or even Australia for that matter, you cannot put that above mentioned maxim has an excuse. Someone with a good cricketing brain like Imran Khan wouldn’t put up with that loser approach.
If we see immature and stubborn players in the team who can’t adapt to a situation and who are not willing to learn from their mistakes, we will have to expect these results. I am still shocked at people who support the inclusion of our country’s “specialist openers” in the team. People who support their inclusion are just as stubborn as these openers themselves. It’s time we adopt one voice and one strategy. Dispense with the ill-fated specialist openers and open with specialist batsmen like Mohammad Yousuf or Asim Kamal. If newbie players don’t perform, sack them immediately. If experienced players underperform for a reasonable amount of time, sack them. (Razzaq shouldn’t have been played in this series). Look at context and select players on the basis of that. Did anyone in their right mind reasonably think that Nazir or Hafeez could score well in South Africa? Do they have the temperament, the wisdom, the training?
I don’t want to talk about politics but a couple of months ago I mentioned that there isn’t any discrimination or bias as far as selecting people from a certain province is concerned. But now I am beginning to see the other side of the coin, especially considering our WC squad. If we saw Asim Kamal, the brilliant Fawad Alam and Anwar Ali in the playing XI in SA, I daresay it would have been a different story. Heck, even the failed opener Yasir Hameed in place of Mohammad Hafeez could have been more effective. I hope that Wasim Bari and his cronies resign soon. Our cricket fans don’t mind attacking and stoning our cricketers, I would suggest them to attack the selectors as a change.
This is a sensitive issue. It’s about having the judicious approach to get the balance right. Get the balance right between playing in form newbies and failed youngsters (Nazir/Hafeez). Get the balance right between how long we have to keep up with someone experienced like Razzaq or get someone like Azhar Mahmood in the team, who currently can bat and bowl better than Razzaq. Get the balance right between current form and experience. Experience is no good when it doesn’t spark up and demonstrate its efficacy.
I don’t think action should be taken against Inzamam. The selectors are more culpable. And please stop blaming Woolmer, it’s not his fault if paindu Hafeez and Nazir don’t understand his language. I’m not saying that Hafeez and Nazir (or Butt, Farhat) don’t have the talent. All I’m saying is that there isn’t the right environment for them to nurture their talent because the think-tank of the team is inept itself. The whole idea of “go out play your natural game, play with your heart and passion inshallah you’ll make a century” is flawed. How much more proof do we need?
I request all my friends here to adopt one voice, one strategy and voice out seditious opinions regarding Wasim Bari and co. because they are the real culprits.
In the end I would like to mention some of the things that have been correctly put by fans on this blog. Firstly, Pakistani team is not showing the spirit. They are getting complacent. 2. Mr Euceph Ahmed said that Pakistan does not play for pride and only plays for pride when playing against India, which is true as well. Strangely, observing the body language of the players shows that Asim Kamal and Danish Kaneria seem to be the only players who look tenacious and who seem to be playing for pride and giving their 100% in every match. 3. Performance related pay schemes should be implemented. I reckon there is some presence of this scheme in every Cricket Board. But in PCB’s case, this has to become more prevalent. They should have some sort of reform in the pay scheme. We will see more players “playing for pride” then. Considering most of our players come from small towns/ villages in Punjab, they are satisfied with the money they get in the match fee. Hence that extra spark to perform extraordinarily is missing. In Pakistan, money buys everything. Let’s “buy” our talented cricketers and tempt them with greater monetary rewards for good performance.

Pakistan haven't been playing well over the last couple of games and we can't say that it's because they are missing some key players even though that is a main part, the team needs to play with intensity, heart and courage, we saw them in the 2nd Odi play an amazing game and we know that they are caplable of doing so i know that they have it in them, they need encouragement and the openers need to be experinced in playing swing! sure they have screwed up this time guys but we still have to got to believe and give them our full support i belive they can come back into world cricekt

world cup team should be reconsiderd . i want selectors to be bold.Salman butt, Yasir hameed and Asim kamal deserve to be in world cup team then inzi , shoab malik and hafeez . And as far as bowlers are concerned Rana Naveed must be banned in pakistan cricket.

well, losing to SA has become " recuring" matter, so it doesnt hurt much , what hurts is the way , lossing it before getting onto the field. Thou I still back my country n always will , but come on guyz gimmi sumthing to cheer about , atleast commited will to successd .

Welllllllll guysss!

i have read almost all the comments. More than 90% of us are disappointed and hurt, no doubt about that.
i agree with you kamran mostly, i also agree with Mr. Yahsir khan from torontoo but read mr najam's comment please please. u all ppl.
We as pakistanis always should take postives out of it.one thing i tell all of you how passionate i am about pakistan cricket team, for example if only 1 run has left to win against paskistan & 8 or 9 wickets in hand, my heart still says pak will win, a miracle will happen. That's the way i think. i always take positives in every loss.
Here one person has written, i am not disappointed but hurt as paksitan did'nt have any fight. i 100% agree with him.
As, Paksitan team has been now selected, so whatever the performance of rana, razzaq & akmal etc., we have to cope with it.
So now at this bad time, pakistan team needs full back up n support by all of us. So pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee don't let down the morale of pakistan team as world cup is very near. i tell you surely, this team inshallah qualify for semis at least.
One thing always remember, all teams including austrailia had suffered in SFrican condtions recently. SA has been winning every OdI series at their own homeyard since jan 2006.
VERY VERY BEST OF LUCK INZI AND CO. FOR WORLD CUP

Syed ehtisham
Lahore

I use to comment on every topic in this blog before I realised that Pakistani Cricket fans don't know themselves of what they want!!

Most of the people's opinion here doesn't last long either. They make these rational, emotional and most of the times extremelly unlogical comments.

I remember before the series, there was a topic about the team going to SA. 90% of the people wanted Rana Naved to play instead of Umar Gul, they wanted Imran Nazir to play instead of Farhat and they wanted Malik out of the team because he apperantly is "bits and pieces". Some even wanted Sami to be in the playing 11.

We have all seen what Rana Naved is capable of. The worst ODI figures for a Pakistani bowler in history and suddenly Asif, Akhtar and Gul become a dream combination for the same fans.

They all wanted Nazir in the team and now suddenly he is too rashional to be in the team. They all thought Malik not playing would be a blessing and he ends up being one of the more consistent batsman in the ODI series again.

Pakistan cricket fans like the team hope too much. They hope that the team will win, they hope that Rana will perform, they hope that one day, maybe one day Sami will perform, they hope for a half decent opener in Farhat/Butt as S. Anwar.

The sad truth of the matter is, maybe Pakistani cricketers are not as talented as the world thinks they are!! If they were:-

We would have atleast one decent opener.
We would have a sound one down batsman (please check Younis Khan's figures at one down before mentioning his name).
We would have a genuine allrounder who performs and not confused batsmen who can bowl or bowlers who can bat.
We also would have a reliable wicket keeper who can bat.

I would just like to say, the fan themselves are as unconsistant as our team and do not judge the team on the basis of these performances without the key players and right batting combination.

If Akhtar, Asif and Gul play, Pakistan would be a allot better team then the one now but I still wouldn't expect allot from them as they still won't get the team selection and batting order right.

Openers Should be Nazir/Hameed and Afridi. I chose Afridi because lets admit it, our specialist are playing 21 balls and getting out on 1 or 7 balls and getting out on 0, so we might aswell take a chance and let Afridi open as we know if he play plays 21 balls, it will be 30+ runs he will be getting out on and not 1!! I chose Nazir/Hameed over Hafeez because his every innings has been worst then the last one, he some how manages to perform worst in every innings, besides either Malik or Hafeez should be in the team, not both and Malik is a better option.

One down clearly should be Malik, the best performer at 3 in recent years. He times his innings to perfection according to the situation. Can be defencive when required and display sudden burst of explosivness in his batting.

Four Five and Six should be given to Yousuf and Inzi, Younis not any lower batting position no matter what!

We know that no matter how bad Razzak and Akmal will perform, they will be in the team so 7 and 8 should be their position and not any higher.

Three pace bowlers are to be Akhtar, Asif and Gul. Allah help us all if any one of them does not play!!

I don't care about any back up bowlers because it will be either Rana or Sami and we all know if they are to be selected as back up to the three seamers, then they will bowl 6 overs between them, go for 9+ runs each and field at fine leg or something and be just a name on the team sheet!!

Feel sad for Rao Iftikhar Anjum because he atleast bowls his line and lenght unlike Rana or Sami.

World Cup 2007, won't be expecting much from the team no matter who plays or who doesn't!

As long as Rana Naveed is in the team they are not going to win any match. Bring in Sami instead and let Afridi open the innings. Inzy is looking very tired God help him.

General Tauqir Zia,Mr.Sheheryar and now Dr.Ashraf,These Three STOOGES have destroyed our cricket,younis khan as vice captain is joke of the century,why is Muhammad Yousuf being prepared for captaincy?Andheer Nagri Chaupat Raj.
Shoaib wins you a test,bowls his heart out,injured himself in the process,and he has a supposed "Attitude"problem,who r Saleem Altaf and company fooling?They just don't want capable players in the team so they can challange their mishandling...

Well It is a sorrow sight to say something about our cricket team. I am really nowhere to tell where should I start from? They have let down the whole nation but if you look at their faces they feel no shame. They might have lost all the games but with some pride and justice to the game. They claim themselves as WORLD no 3 team. Is this a justify position for them to be at # 3. Certainly Not!. No Leadership,no descipline, no unity and no strategy. They have hired a foreign coach and paying him a lot but not a single positive result. Unable to correct batsmen techniques, unable to produce quality openers. To win at home and in subcontinent pitches is not an achievement. If you just look at the senior players they r blaming the junior for the poor show, but just asked them how much they contributed in a team fighting. Captain is of such caliber that he is bending down and letting the junior players to fight front. How stupid and mean. If he is so coward that he should certainly step down as a captain. We need a man who is brave and with some hearts to show. I dont reckon them as a team who could give some results. They always embarass.

Could everyone please stop bitching and start showing some support for the team???

I think Pakistan cricket board management has got no planning and take strange decisions. Danish Kaneria was ignored for ODI games and suddenly he has been recalled for World Cup. Abdul Rehman, who was groomed for world cup has been ignored. Similarly, during past four years, Pakistan management, coach and captain did not fix the problem of openers, by sticking with a single pair and giving them enough chance.
Except Mohammad Asif, Pakistan has no strike bowler in its camp. He cannot bowl 50 overs. So instead of reposing faith in Ranas, Samis, Pakistan cricket board should have given the young bowlers, who won the juniors world cup for Pakistan, chance to play in South Afria. At least two bowlers of junior team, if coached, would have become world class bowlers by now. But alas lack of planning has forced Pakistan to select Ranas in their world cup. What can u expect of a bowler, who bowls lose and short-pitch bowls.

Actually I'm releived by the performance of our team. Atleast we can now relax without any worries and tensions regarding our chances in the world cup. Ever since the inaugural cup in 1975, we have been cited as one of the favourites, and we sincerely believed that we could pull it off (like wqe did in 1992). Now we know we dont stand a chance, therfore just relax and look forward to watching entertaining cricket from other teams.

Pathetic Rana is played again and again and selected for the World Cup (is he related to Inzamam? Why was Azhar Mahmood invited to South Africa and dumped again? This Lahore/Multan Mafia has got to be stopped. Get rid of Inzamam and the coach ASAP. We are the worst fielding side in the world, anyone unable to field to world statndard should not be selected to represent Pakistan.

Pakistan and cricket should not be mentioned in the same sentence; unless its to make a crude joke or to signify loss or heart and will.

Our showing in SA was beyond expectation.... no words to describe our lack of will to fight. The fight begins at the top;always. Inzi is in a slum, our bowling is ridiculous... Rana is the best batsman on the other team and our openners are there to give every slip fielder and WC a good practice.Get a proper bowling coach; Waqar, Wasim bhai, my watchman.... whatever. But get on with it, learn to bowl, learn to bat and most of all learn to fight!!!

PAKISTAN ZINDABAD! Zinda, my team... ZINDA!

Only one good thing came out after yesterday's match that we supporters dont have to suffer any more embarassment for next four weeks atleast. Good job we have teams like bangladesh( i think they are better then our batesmen at the moment), kenya otherwise we would have been at the bottom. Whats wrong with their heads, havn't they realised that percentage shots (like hook shots) dont always come off especially if you keep hitting them to the fielders and in the air. If i was doing half as bad job as them at my workplace i would have been fired by now.

Well, going through most of the comments I feel that these are the remarks of a few very disppointed and dejected pakistani fans who aree rightly let down by present showings of their team. However, I am not too embarassed by my team's performance. There are several reasons for that. One is the fact that I dont personally have the same expectations from this team as I used to have. This is obviously based on Pakistan's recent performances since last world cup. I never expect them to win against better oppositions like SA or aussies because I know that they are not well equipped at all. Except our bowling which when fit and firing is as good as any we have plenty of problems in the ground. Except Yousaf we havn't got any classy batsman. Inzi is too old, younis is patchy and rest are not worth mentioning. The biggest problem however is that unfortunately just like our country we dont have any leadership in our cricket team as well.
I dont know who thought Inzi would be a good captain and decided to give him the band. His general body language, his attitude, planning, selection of players have been so horrendously mediocre and below par that I wont even make him my street team's captain. Winning the toss and then batting in Englansd's champion's trophy semi final against west Indies is just an example.Somehow, I feel that he is being spoon fed by Bob Woolmer. He hasn't got any insight or understanding of managing a team no matter how gifted it is. I am pretty sure if he had been the captain of present aussie side they would have been the loser on most occasions. What pakistan is winning at all these days is purely because of individual brilliance and there is no room for effective planning and strategy. Anyway coming back to the point, I still dont think Pakistan side is too bad. They have never performed well in SA or on bouncy tracks. They played quite well in test matches anywyas against same SA side so there is still reason forhope. I think,If they get the form at the right time in world cup i.e in super eight stage, they can still win the WC. They certainly have the talent and I hope they get the desire as well when asked. The key however for pakistani fans is to keep your expectations from Inzi's men and Inzi himself quite limited and enjoy what is there on offer. Chill my countrymen. Just chill.

oh yes me too, but still a little hope that may be may be something better will happend in the world cup. I mean no Bouncy Pitches no great deal of swing.

Wow. Kamran.
The last line said it all.
great observations covered in a line

what do u expect from a failed state. how the hell we r going to have the best team in the world or have pcb run in a good way when the country isnt even run ligitimately musharaf just puts his friends anywhere he desires and pathetic pakistani losers just sit there and watch it happens i was stupid enough to get excited that sum1 as stupid as fat inzi can actualy lead the teamt to win the cup. tell inzi to stop acting being all relgious and cover up everything by saying bismillah at the ceremony and still shake hands with women when receiving trophy. Aloo is pathtic and should be kicked out of the team.

I totally agree with you I think this is all due to the poor performance of openor I dont understand why our batting pillars i.e yousaf,inzi and younas are affraid to open the batting like tendulkar,flaming,lara,ganguly etc they all are a middle order batsmsn but when the team required they go to openan an innings so know that we do not a good openor so its ridicoulous to blame on the selection of openor I think we have given a fair chance to all available openors in pakistn like taufeeq umar , salman but,imran farahat,imran nazir,hafeez,kamram akmal etc but now we should realize that they are not capabale to handle an international bowler so the our top guns should go and take the charge .

what i find odd is that certain people think that Pakistan were on to in PE prior to the rain disruption... [i really don't think +-250 is a good score].

I am sure SA would have scord 250+ in 40 overs in PE

The best thing about South African tour is that it's finally over. While it's natural to disect the going-ons of the last couple of months and call for the heads of Inzamam, Woolmer and the rest, that is precisely what we have no time for, nor will it do absolutely an iota of good at this stage. Forgive? Maybe not. But forget? Yes, at least for the meanwhile.

What we, and indeed the team, needs right now is to put the last campaign (more like lack of it) out of our minds. Come on, the only reason we're even reading and writing on this blog is because we KNOW they're better than this.

It's too late to learn the basics of batting, bowling and fielding. Inspiration, motivation and the faith of an entire nation is all that can help them (and us) come March.

I having read all the post on here and can only boil our rubbish performances down to attitude.

Most of you guys are talking of watching games on T.V or at best going to matches and seeing our players underperform. My friends and I have seen what the Pakistani players are all about as we have met them on many occasions during the tour of England.

During the warm up games, we managed to meet most of the players. And so help me god I was embarressed. All of them act like children and are over arrogant. They talk to you like you are s**t. Our coaches spent most time watching the players train and shake there heads in dis belief. Farhat and Butt where more concerned with talking to young girls then practising. Younis Khan ignored our calls for autographs and just sat with a young girl of about 17 and laughed at us. Mohammed Asif cant talk without swearing. Inzi and Yousuf would not even sign a autograph. Afridi kept signing autographs but wasn’t to concerned with training. Akmal looked like a man short of confidence but was the ONLY player with any professionalism. The rest where a joke.

We spoke at length with Murray Steven our pysio after he spent most of the afternoon working on Danish and Asif. This is what he said. 'these guys don’t understand that hard work brings success'

Not 1 of these guys where fit. Not 1 was humble. Not 1 was a proffesional.

There attitude stinks and they have no shame nor are they frightend of failure.

We only met one person who was of Asian origin and was a class above them all. He was Owais Shah. To bad he was english

I think no one lestening us. They don't care about the feeling of 160 million people. Pakistani Players are not professional and good thinker. Actually no one in the team who can help Inzy to make decision. if you are hoping that inzamam will make good decision" you are living in fool paradise" He doesn't know the meaning of LEADERSHIP . He is LEADER just because he is senior palyer not because he is good LEADER.

Athar, Melbourne, Australia

I think people should calm down and not jump to conclusions. Let me ease your mind with a few interesting factors:

* Pakistan have been historically weak against South Africa in ODI's. Played 47, won 14, lost 32. 1 NR. I mean, even when we won it in 92, we lost to them! And then when we reached the final in 99, we still lost to them on the way! Forget the Aussies, South Africa are our real bogey team!

*Pakistan struggle on bouncy wickets. Unfortunately, I'd be here all day if I put down some stats to go with this, but ask yourself, how come we've never won a series in Australia or South Africa?!... Answer: Bouncy Wickets.

*Rana Naved Ul Hasan's inclusion.

*Abdul Rehman's exclusion.

*The pitches in West Indies are a home away from home. Our batsmen will have no such problems on them from medium pacers like Pollock. In fact, Imran Nazir and co will prosper. Got no footwork? Don't worry, you'll fit in just fine in the Windies. Just ask Shiv Chanderpaul!

*These massive defeats are just what Pak needed. A wake up call. The more embarrassing, the better. They need a return to the form which saw them come from two down to win the series in India 4-2. After than series win, I'm sure Mr Abbassi's (and most of the people on here) opinions were the complete opposite. Don't lose faith after one series loss.

*India, with their Tendulkars and Dravids, just lost their ODI series with South Africa 4-0. At least Pakistan managed to win one.

*(Insha'Allah) Shoaib will be back for the WC. As will Gul. Two of our best ODI bowlers